Survival Food Plants

Contents
What is a survival plant?
Why survival plants?
Do your bit for the environment.
Why you won't see these plants in your supermarket
The survival food forest
Real nutrition
Survival Gardening Tips Tip #1 - Try anything and everything! Tip #2 - Learn to eat what you grow Tip #3 - Don't sweat the bugs Tip #4 - Leave your spade in the shed Tip #5 - Work the soil not the plants The plants Plant listings by climate for dry areas for bog areas for shady areas for pots and containers for mulch for high nutrition for salads for stir fries for soups and curries
9 9 9 10 11 13 15
57 57 58 58 59 59 60 60 61 61
2011 www.survivalfoodplants.com
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What is a survival plant?

It's a little difficult to define "survival plant". In a survival situation, any plant that can be eaten would be considered a survival plant. That would include any vegetable or fruit you have in the garden right through to local weeds or plants that are edible (well at least a non-poisonous form of nutrients!). I think a survival plant is one that you put in the garden once and it grows continuously with a minimum of care. A plant you can turn to in times of need A survival plant should meet the following criteria (in order of importance):It should be edible (of course), tasty and nutrient rich It should perennial - or at least readily self-seeding It should need a minimum of care It should have a long or repeated harvest There's not too many conventionally grown vegetables that will meet all of this criteria. Most require regular preparation of the soil, regular & seasonal planting, regular watering, regular fertilising and once the plant has yielded it's crop, you have to pull it up & start all over again. Growing conventional crops is very rewarding, but let's face it - it's a bit of work. From my experience growing both conventional vegetables and survival plants, I can say that survival plants have far less problems with bugs, diseases, and bad weather - if they do, they will usually recover without any assistance on your part. Even better, if you interplant them with your conventional vegetables, they'll get less bugs too! Survival plants on the other hand, take a little bit of work up front to get them settled in and then you can leave them to do their own thing. Some will die back in winter and resprout in spring, others will go all year round - the common thing with survival plants is that they are perennial and don't require replanting every year. If allowed to, most survival plants will never need replanting. Many don't need watering if you get a decent amount of rainfall, and fertiliser requirements are optional - just fertilise & mulch when you get to it. The most work you'll do is harvesting
The more plants you try, the more you'll have success with.
To get most value out of survival plants, it is best to learn how to use them. Why wait for disaster to hit when you could be getting value out of them all year - every year? Many of them have far more nutrition than many conventional vegetables and they all taste great. The best way is to use them is in combination with the vegetables you eat now, but try using them on their own too. Once you've learnt how to grow & use these plants regularly, you won't need to be concerned with food or nutrition if there was any interruption to the food supply. Your backyard garden could keep you going for months or even years. You'll also save money in the meantime - and more in future as food prices continually move upward. Greens from my survival garden
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Why survival plants?

Perhaps this is a good time to explain how I have come to know and love these wonderful plants. For a long time now I've been interested in growing my own food. I've tried to grow just about every conventional vegetable there is over the years. Some years I'll do well with some, and fail dismally with others. Sometimes the weather will ruin my crops, at other times it'll be the bugs that come in and wipe them out. Even to this day, there's many crops I won't bother with as they just don't seem to do well in my soil & my climate. You see I'm not the type of gardener that faithfully works in the garden every day. At times, I might spend an entire weekend in there preparing new gardens & planting new crops. At other times, I might not do any work in there for weeks or even months. My work or family might take me away, or sometimes I'm just not motivated or interested in garden work. At the times I'm working in the garden regularly, I find I'll get great crops of things like lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, beans, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplants etc some failures sure, but mostly good returns on my efforts. At the times I'm neglecting my garden though, something very interesting happens. Apart from the obvious proliferation of weeds, the exotic survival plants I've put in continue to thrive. In fact, mostly they'll outcompete the weeds and continue to provide daily food for me and my family. While this is happening, most or all of the conventional veges I've planted eventually fail. Seems almost too good to be true plants that thrive on neglect! Plant them once, they'll multiply by themselves and continue to provide food on a daily basis. If anything, many of these plants become a weed themselves and might need to be removed just like you would any other weed. If, on the other hand, you do have a green thumb and successfully grow conventional vegetables on a regular basis, survival plants still have plenty to offer. Firstly, they make great companion plants. Plant them around the edge of your garden beds or amongst ornamental plantings and they'll help by diversifying your garden & confusing the bugs. Many of them make great mulch and so don't need to be eaten to be of value. Secondly, they'll add variety to what you can put on the table. These plants in general are highly nutritious and tasty too and will add interest to all your salads & stir fries in particular. It's fun to explain to visitors what those unusual delicious leaves are in the salad! And finally, it improves your personal food security. If through sickness or absence you're unable to attend to your garden, your perennials will keep right on growing and cover any losses to your regular food production.
Do your bit for the environment

Human beings are like a plague on our planet - ecologically speaking. And in the last 200 years we've become a plague out of control. For tens of thousands of years up until 1800, we grew our population to less than a billion people. There are many instances up until that time, of dramatic reductions in the human population mostly through plagues & wars, and occasionally through natural disasters. This is an ecosystem's way of bringing balance to the system Mother nature's way of keeping things in harmony. Since that time, we've grown our population to about 7 billion now. We've cut down or bulldozed a significant portion of our forests to house us & for farming. Forests turn carbon dioxide - a human waste product, into oxygen - a human requirement for life. We've cut a lot of them down and the cutting goes on. In minutes, we cut down what took thousands of years to establish. And now in areas where the forest is cut down, some of the land is now so degraded we can't use it. The degradation goes on at an alarming rate.
The total destruction of forest by clearfelling. Photo:TJ Watt

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We've depleted many of our natural resources. We've pulled so much oil, gas & minerals out of the ground now, that questions are being raised about how much longer they will last. Nearly all of this in the last 200 years. 200 years to diminish resources that took millions of years to create! Same with water underground water supplies that took thousands of years to stock are being diminished and some are nearly empty. We've polluted our waterways to the point now that we can't even bathe in some of them let alone drink from them. We've created this system of money and globalised everything so that the rich get even richer, and the poor get even poorer. Rich countries have problems with obesity while a billion people are undernourished, and over 100 million of them are actually starving. People in suits, in luxurious offices, in high rise buildings are making lots of money trading food as a commodity, while small farmers are being forced off their land because they can't make enough money to survive, and again, a billion people are undernourished and starving. We used to get most of our food locally, now it could come from anywhere in the world. It used to come from small, organic, sustainable farms and now we leave it in the hands of massive corporations who use lots of oil to produce our food and make lots of pollution. Then they use lots of oil & make lots of pollution to send it around the world. If we got hurt or sick, we used to deal with it in the home or our community with plants that were given to us by nature and which were often very effective. Now we leave it in the hands of large drug companies to produce drugs - usually a synthesisation of something offered in nature, for the most minor of complaints. Large drug companies that are primarily in the business of making money, using up oil & making pollution to replace something we already have in nature? In the last 200 years especially, our passion for economic growth, technology and a material lifestyle has been at the expense of our environment, and sometime in the future, there will be a price to pay. Who knows exactly how high that price will be, and how soon it will happen, but one thing's for sure - we can't keep our current track for too much longer. Many argue that it's already too late, and we should should be preparing for all sorts of disasters right now.
Myself, I'm not sure what's going to happen and when, but I'd like to do my bit about righting these wrongs. As I see it, restoring harmony with mother nature starts in our own backyards. If we stop buying food from halfway around the world, then maybe the exploitive producers will go out of business. If we start growing our own food, or at least buy it from a local farmer, that's some oil saved & pollution reduced. That's some money going to someone in our local community, instead of more money going into the hands of big business. If millions or billions of us do it, that's going to have a profound impact on our relationship with the earth. So that's what this book is all about. Encouraging you to use some of these very easy to grow and very tasty and nutritious to eat plants to take care of some or even most of your family's food needs. You don't need to be a great gardener, or break your back doing it. I'll share some tips with you that'll make growing food much easier. If we all do that, and encourage others to do the same, we will be making a difference. And if disaster strikes, we'll be much better prepared to see it out.
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Why you won't see these plants in your supermarkets

You may well ask if these plants are so nutritious & so easy to grow, why aren't they available in supermarkets? The quick answer is it depends where you live. Many of these plants are staple foods in other parts of the world especially Asia & Africa where they're bought & sold in local markets or grown in local plots. In some cases, they're endemic to the area & are wild harvested. If you live in a western society, the story's a little different. Supermarkets are geared to be the end seller of what modern agriculture can produce. They won't show much interest in few kilograms of local produce. Their mode of operation is to buy produce by the ton, then package & distribute it around the country. High nutrient value is of no interest to supermarkets it's all about long shelf life & appearance - or in other words - profit, profit & more profit!
Commercial harvesting of Kang kong Photo: Pen War
I'm not suggesting you aim for self-sufficiency here (that's a worthy but difficult goal), just that you put some of these amazing plants in your garden, and even better, learn how to incorporate them in your diet. Even adding a single perennial food plant to your back yard can have an impact on your diet. These plants are packed full of nutrients that are mostly lost in fresh food available in supermarkets. Simply adding a leaf or two a day to your salads straight from the garden will make a difference, and getting the bulk of your greens from the garden will most certainly improve your chances of good health. This process of growing food & then eating the produce will also bring you closer to nature, you'll be much less reliant on modern farming for your nutrition and at the same time reduce your impact on the earth's ecosystems.
The survival food forest

The best thing about a survival food forest is that it needn't be a lot of work. A food forest is a bit of effort up front to find and plant the different varieties, maybe some fertilising, weeding and mulching along the way, and if it get's really dry, maybe a bit of watering. No daily, weekly or monthly chores and certainly no back-breaking chores like digging or starting new gardens from scratch every season. Survival plants are mostly very forgiving and will still reward you when you neglect them. If you can get them established in your garden, you'll probably have them forever. If you can learn to eat them, you'll have free, high quality food forever. It's a pretty good deal. Another great thing about a survival food forest is that it is a great place to hang out and relax. An awesome place to be at dawn or dusk perhaps picking your next meal. A place to wander around picking at leaves or berries as you go. A place to meditate or enjoy a relaxing cup of tea.
The survival food forest - lots of species, not a lot of cultivation.

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If you really want to survive well in a time of crisis, why not form a "friendship" with your garden now - get to know the individual plants, how to use them and how to incorporate them into your lifestyle. Always be on the lookout to bring some new ones in, get to know them too. Learn to propogate them, and share them around with your friends and neighbours. Anywhere you've got persistent weeds, replace them with survival plants and save yourself some weeding. Then, if you and your family were ever thrown into a survival situation, you'd have the food aspect already covered from day 1. Maybe not all your food requirements, but enough to keep you alive and thriving for a long time.
Real Nutrition
If the term "survival food plant" conjures up thoughts of a plant that tastes like cardboard and is empty of nutrition - think again. Nutritional facts from the USDA national nutrient database say otherwise. I like and grow Lettuce too, but I'm well aware that it's my survival plants that pack the nutritional punch to my diet. Same goes for survival plant tubers compared to potatoes. I've set out a table below of Lettuce compared to 4 of the plants I've introduced you to on this site (Taro isn't included as it can't be eaten raw) It quickly becomes obvious that the perennial survival plants win hands down. That's in a scientific comparison under controlled conditions. It doesn't take into account the nutrients lost in the time between harvesting and eating - something you won't have to worry about if you plant them in your garden. As for taste, well it's always personal preference, but I consider Lettuce pretty bland next to these perennial survival plants - more than likely you will too. You can add variety, flavour and nutrition to your diet by using these plants in addition to the vegetables you use now. In my eBook I detail over 40 edible plants that can be used in salads and cooking so you're virtually guaranteed to find several (if not lots more) you like. Nutrient facts - Salad leaves (raw) Unit Lettuce Energy kCal Protein g Fat g Carbohydrate g Fiber g Vitamins Vitamin A Vitamin B Vitamin C Minerals Calcium Iron Magnesium Phosphorous Potassium Sodium Zinc Copper Manganese Selenium mcg mg mg mg mg mg mg mg mg mg mg mg mcg 14 0.9 0.14 2.97 1.2 25 0.35 2.8 18 0.41 7 20 141 10 0.15 0.03 0.13 0.1 Malabar Kang spinach Kong 19 1.8 0.3 3.4 2 400 1.14 102 109 1.2 65 52 510 24 0.43 0.11 0.74 0.8 19 2.6 0.2 3.14 2.1 315 1.32 55 77 1.67 71 39 312 113 0.18 0.02 0.16 0.9 Sweet Garlic potato chives leaves 35 30 4 3.27 0.3 0.73 6.38 4.35 2 2.5 51 2.13 11 37 1.01 61 94 518 9 0.29 0.04 0.26 0.9 218 1.41 58.1 92 1.6 42 58 296 3 0.56 0.16 0.37 0.9
source: USDA National Nutrient Database
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Survival gardening tips

The survival garden is not meant to be a lot of work. Maybe the odd burst of weeding, fertilising and mulching, but there shouldnt be any need for you to be in there every day or even every week. Perennial survival plants once established should pretty much take care of themselves. A true Lazy mans garden You should spend most of your time in a survival garden harvesting not working. The best measure of how your survival gardens going is how much you eat out of it, or how much youre enjoying growing it. It shouldnt be a burden. With that in mind, and conscious of the fact that some of my ideas will fly in the face of some conventional thinking, I have five key tips to offer survival gardeners for greater success.
Tip#1 Try anything and everything

I started out food gardening by reading lots of books and following much of the advice to the letter. What grows in my climate, what soil & water conditions it likes, when to plant it & what to feed it. The more books I read, the more confused I got it seems theres many different opinions about what individual plants like, and my actual growing experience was often quite different to what the books said. So my tip is, give everything a go. If you buy a punnet of seedlings, ignore the instructions & try planting in different positions and see what happens. Throw seeds in many different spots and see what comes up. Try everything! Plants like to grow thats what they do. Just care for them the best you can and let them do their own thing. If a plants happy in the position you give it, let it grow, if not, dig it up and try it somewhere different. Some of the results can be quite amazing regardless of what the books say and some plantings that should grow well will be complete flops!
The more plants you try, the more you'll have success with.
Tip#2 Learn to eat what you grow

Many gardeners write that you should only be bothered planting what you eat. Theres plenty of merit in this after all, no sense growing sweet potato if you dont like it! Thatll work out fine for you if you enjoy many different vegetables and are prepared to put the work into growing them. Youll need to time your preparation and plantings with the seasons, and once you get the hang of it youll have a great supply of different in-season vegetables all year round. That might mean no cucumbers in winter & no broccoli in summer, but thats easy enough to adapt to.
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If youre a fussy eater, the idea of planting only what you eat becomes a bit more problematic. Most annual vegetables have a limited growing & harvesting period and any thoughts of growing them all year round will be futile. You can get many of them in the supermarket all year round, but they might come from the other side of the world. So if you insist on having your cucumbers and broccoli on the table every week of the year, youre stuck in the modern food system and at the mercy of whatever they decide to do to your food. Youll be in a bit of trouble if youre ever put in a survival situation thered be nothing to eat that you like! Why not open up a little and try eating whatever your garden provides. Try the things you like & try everything else too. Get these survival plants in, and learn how to eat them. You cant compare the taste of homegrown vegetables to what you buy in the supermarket your palate is sure to widen when you eat home grown. Plant lots of perennials so you have lots of choices, different ones, at all times of the year. Hone your cooking skills a bit and figure out how to cook your gardens produce to your liking. Its a fabulous feeling cooking food that you grew yourself, and a great talking point with dinner guests. Have a bit of fun and make a salad or stir fry only with what you can find in the garden you might create some new favourite meals! And by eating whats in season, youll be living more in harmony with the natural way of things and at the same time sidestepping the modern food system. It's a fabulous feeling cooking food that you grew yourself.
Its a simple idea, but it can make a huge difference to how much of your own food you eat.
Tip#3 Dont sweat the bugs.

At certain times of year, mostly in the warmer weather, you are going to be faced with garden pests of some type. Thats a fact of gardening life and one you might as well accept. When they have their season, if you like, you can go to war with them and try to wipe them out thats going to cost you time and money and often its a pretty hard war to win. In fact it can drive you nuts! If youre going to take this path, at least ensure you use organic pest control so you dont ruin the food you want to eat. Myself, Id rather put my that time & money into starting new plants, fertilising and waiting it out. Eventually a predator will come along or the weather will change & the bug population will get wiped out anyway. There are a few easy strategies that will help in minimising the impact of bugs though: If the bugs are ruining half of your crop, then maybe its as simple as planting twice as much! Please, please dont put your food plants in nice neat rows. This is an open invitation to the bugs, once established, to ruin your entire crop. Instead, mix your plantings up as much as possible to help confuse them. If youve got broccoli planted in all different spots in the garden amongst lots of other plants, theres a good chance that the cabbage moth wont find all of them. If theyre in a nice neat row, once they find the first one, you can kiss goodbye to all of them.
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By all means, spend a bit of time manually removing the caterpillars, grasshoppers, snails and slugs. Every one you pick off interrupts the breeding cycle and can have a marked effect on their population. Try offering the kids some pocket money for every one they pick off for great effect. Leave spiders, wasps & lady beetles be they kill and eat many of the same bugs youre trying to eradicate. Plant more plants from the onion family like chives, shallots & garlic. Most bugs dont like them and dotted throughout your garden, they can act like a pest repellant. Nasturtium is another good companion plant for bugs. A better long term solution is to interplant a large variety of survival plants with your conventional vegetables. Companion planting with survival plants
Above is a photo of two garden beds. They were built on the same day, of exactly the same materials and all planting was done on the same day. The front garden is Broccoli interplanted with other annual plants, and the back bed is broccoli interplanted with some survival plants. If you take a close look at the broccoli plants, the ones in the front bed have been badly affected by cabbage moth, whereas the ones in the back bed havent been affected at all. Further, the annuals in the front bed are quite stunted and growing only slowly whereas the survival plants in the back bed are thriving and providing plenty of food.
Tip #4 - Leave your spade in the shed

Ive never understood why conventional farming involves ploughing up the soil or why home gardeners dig it up with a spade every season. Perhaps its to remove weeds, or to loosen up the soil so the roots can grow penetrate the soil easier. As far as I know, this doesnt happen anywhere in nature. Dont the plants drop their leaves on top of the soil, which are then recycled by worms and bacteria to create a humus rich topsoil which then in turn supports the plants for the whole thing to happen all over again? Whole forests seem to grow just fine this way. Unless you enjoy digging up your garden, Id suggest you never do it again. Let the worms and soil bacteria do their jobs without interruption. Build it up instead. Simply add layers of manure, hay, compost, seed-free garden waste, mushroom compost or manure pellets on top of the soil no need to dig it in.
New gardens can be started this way too just start with a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard to suppress weeds. Below are photos of a new garden being built layer by layer. You dont need to use the same materials I have just go for a variety of different ones if you can. Some gardeners advise that the bed should be left for a few weeks to breakdown somewhat, but I never bother. I simply dig little holes into the bed, add a handful or two of compost or garden soil and put my seedlings or seeds in that. By the time the plant gets settled and starts to spread its roots, the layers in your no dig bed will have already started to breakdown.
Building a no-dig garden a six layered no dig garden in photos
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and the results
Before and after photos of a no dig garden after 55 days
Tip#5 Work on the soil not the plants.

Survival plants, being hardy perennials, will either work in a position or they wont. If its too cold, shady etc. theyll just struggle & eventually die. If all other conditions are OK, theyll mostly survive in poor soils without any help. If you want to help them, think about improving the soil not attending to the plants. If the soils good, your survival plant should thrive without any care whatsoever if it isnt thriving, then its probably better to try something else. My approach to the soil is to make it as attractive as possible for the worms and bacteria living under the soil they do all the work in making nutrients available to plants nutrients that end up on our tables. They also improve the structure of your soil making it easy for your plants roots to obtain air and water. My worms seem to like compost, animal manure, mulch Ive grown myself (esp. Comfrey), seedfree garden waste, hay or lucerne mulch, mushroom compost, seaweed drenches, blood and bone and even newspaper and cardboard!. Rather than use the same worm-food every time, I prefer to vary it as much as possible, thinking that will make a wider range of nutrients available to the plants (and me). I get what I can locally (living in a rural area helps) and I go out of my way to try and get organic products. If you dont have access to fresh manure, try the animal manure pellets that are available in garden shops especially if they have added trace elements good for the garden good for you. Even better grow your own worm farm and use the juice on your garden for great results.
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Arrowroot
Using it in the kitchen: Young growing tips & unfurled leaves can be used as a cooked vegetable or added to stirfries for an interesting texture. Peeled tubers can be grated or diced raw into salads they have a slightly sweet, crunchy texture. Most commonly though, the tubers are peeled and used like potatoes in casseroles, soups and curries or chopped into chips or a roasted vegetable. They tend to take on the flavour of the meal and retain their crunchy texture. I think theyre best cooked a little longer than you would potatoes. To thicken a meal especially soups, try grating them. Arrowroot is a brilliant survival food as theyre incredibly hardy and productive and can be harvested at any time of year. I only use the tubers occasionally, but am well aware that theres plenty of food in the garden anytime youve got some arrowroot in.
Attractive, thick foliage of Arrowroot Botanical Name: Canna edulis Some other names: Achira, Canna Achira, Queensland arrowroot How to grow it: Arrowroot is amongst the most hardy and productive of all edible perennial plants. If you know the ornamental Canna lillies, then youll have a good idea about the growth habit of Arrowroot. It will grow to about 2m and produce lush green foliage for all but the coldest months of the year. Prefers full sun, but handles light shade well too. In the tropics, it will grow all year round without dieback and in colder climates it will die down in winter resprouting at the first sign of spring. If you experience a winter freeze you may need to treat it as an annual, planting new rhizomes every spring. Arrowroot will tolerate all water conditions from bog to drought, but will obviously produce more if given a regular water supply. Ive never watered mine it seems quite happy with whatever rainfall nature provides. Of course you can expect higher production in deeper and more fertile soils, but really, theyll grow just about anywhere. Propogation is as simple as digging up the tubers and replanting them in their new position. Just make sure each tuber has an eye from which to sprout from some tubers have several. Nutrition: Revered mainly for the starch content in the tubers, which can be made into an easy to digest flour or thickener. Also contains protein, potassium, calcium & phosphorous. Not the most potent plant nutrition wise, but a handy addition to stretch out a cooked meal.
Arrowroot tubers cleaned & ready for cooking. Other uses: Arrowroot makes a great mulch for your garden & can be cut down to the base several times in any growing season. Its worthy as a plant in your garden just for this purpose. Also makes good animal fodder (the leaves are high in protein) and an excellent windbreak or border for your vege patch. All in all an extremely useful plant.
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Asparagus
Using it in the kitchen: Youve never really tasted asparagus until youve picked some fresh & eaten it raw. Its a much more subtle flavour and the spears are so tender they almost melt in your mouth. In my home, the spears dont usually make it to the table as competition is so high for them straight from the garden. If you do manage to get some to the kitchen, try eating it raw in salads In cooking, it should be lightly steamed or stir fried 1-2 minutes is plants Autumn foliage of Asparagus Botanical Name: Asparagus officinalis How to grow it: Asparagus is a flowering perennial plant which dies back in winter and is harvested in spring for its emerging spears. Its a fascinating plant to grow and harvest. An easy to grow plant, but youll need to have patience. It might take a few years before you get serious harvests. One of the best things about asparagus is that it will grow in most climates so its very likely it will grow in yours. The better position you can give it, the better the results. Full sun, deep, fertile soil, regular addition of fertiliser. It is a very hardy plant though in tougher conditions it will just give less spears. You can start asparagus from seed if you can wait until the 3rd year for your crops. Youll get better crops in the 2nd year by sourcing crowns (below ground parts) or dividing your own. Ive always just gone the seed option and waited the extra year. Nutrition: Asparagus is a seriously nutritious plant. Spears have high levels of Vitamins A, B, & C, E, & K, potassium, iron, phosphorous, copper, manganese & many other nutrients. Also thought to be high in antioxidants
Spears of Asparagus just waiting to be picked! Theyll store for a week or so in the fridge, but the basic idea is to eat them as soon as you can after picking. Asparagus is a great survival food as its so easy to grow & rewards with repeated crops of nutritious vegetables year in year out.
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Brazilian Spinach
Brazilian spinach - low growing, shade loving source of greens Botanical Name: Alternanthera sissoo Some other names: Sissoo spinach, Samba lettuce How to grow it: Brazilian spinach is a low growing perennial that will extend over a large area if allowed. Its very easy to control though through regular harvesting of the tips. Will survive in full sun, but prefers shade. A good plant for understory situations, or around the house where it wont get too much sun. In warmer areas it will provide leaves & stems all year round, in colder climates it may die back in winter, but will normally sprout as soon as the frost has passed. In very cold climates it will need to replanted from seed. Likes a regular supply of water, but will hold its own in drought conditions leaf production will slow down. Propogation is by tip cuttings which root easily, or the plant can be divided at the base
Tip cuttings of Brazilian spinach take root easily Grows really well in pots just make sure it doesnt dry out too much or you wont get much to pick Nutrition: Theres not much information on Brazilian spinach other than its high protein content. Its likely to be a good source of vitamins and minerals just like most other greens. Using it in the kitchen: The most notable thing about the leaves would be the crunchy texture which survives even with a little cooking. Has a milder flavour than most greens like it. Remove all stems and add it to salads or sandwiches for a bit of crunch. Leaves can also be added to stir fries, soups, curries & casseroles just like you would any other spinach. Brazilian spinach is a good survival food as its available for most of the year and handles shade better than most plants like it.
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Cassava
Nutrition: Cassava roots are mainly a source of carbohydrates, but are also high in calcium, phosphorous & vitamin C. The leaves are high in protein. Cassava contains varying levels of Hydrocyanic Acid which is poisonous to both humans and animals. Both the leaves & the tubers must be cooked to remove this toxin. There are low toxic varieties, and I know in some cultures the leaves are eaten raw, but Id recommend cooking at all times. Using it in the kitchen: Lush foliage of Cassava Botanical Name: Manihot esculenta Some other names: yuca, tapioca, mandico, alpim How to grow it: Cassava is a short lived perennial bush that can grow to several metres. Its an attractive plant with lush foliage on red-green stems. Cassava is grown extensively in the tropics & sub-tropics and will do best in these climates. Will have a shorter growing season in cooler climates and is better treated as a annual planted when the weather has warmed up. Likes full sun and a position where the soil drains well. Cassava likes a regular supply of water, but does very well in drought conditions. As long as there is some water in the season, it will continue to produce. Ive found it will grow well in poor soils as long as it doesnt get waterlogged. Propogation is by stem cuttings. In late winter or early spring, cut off a large stem from the dormant plant. Then cut the stem into 1520cm pieces with at least two nodes on them. Plant them in position or in pots & theyll strike quite easily when the weather warms up. Grows OK in pots, but youll need big ones if you plan to harvest the tubers To use Cassava leaves, they must first be boiled in water for 10 minutes, with the water discarded. Then they can be added to salads, soups, casseroles, and curries. The tubers can be used just like you would potatoes. They make great chips or roast veges. Remove the skin & rinse in water before use.
Roots of Cassava ready for baking or boiling (peel first). Cassava makes a great survival food as its hardy to drought conditions and both the leaves & roots can be eaten. Other uses The lage lobed leaves can be harvested regularly during the growing season & make great mulch for the garden.
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Chilli tree
It does well in large pots You might have to trim its roots every 2-3 years for best results.
Chilli tree - gives plentiful crops year in year out. Botanical Name: Capsicum frutescens Some other names: Pepper, hot pepper, chili How to grow it: The Chilli tree is a perennial bush to about two metres that provides generous supplies of consistently flavoured chillies. Im unsure of the botanical name for the species I grow (I bought it many years ago at a market stall), but it differs from all other chillies Ive grown by the fact that it develops into a larger plant & rebounds more strongly in spring. Many of the other chilli varieties Ive grown tend to struggle with winter & then regrow at less vigour than the first year. It handles a wide range of conditions from drought to quite wet (not boggy) but will respond with better fruiting it grown in well drained soils that receive regular water. It prefers heat, but would grow in cooler climates with a shorter fruiting season. In my cool subtropical climate it gives fruit for at least 6 months of the year. Responds well to fertilising and mulching go easy on high nitrogen fertilisers you want fruit not leaf! Propogation works from tip cuttings, but is much easier by seed. Just pick some ripe fruits in late Autumn, dry them out over winter, and plant them when the weather warms up. Youll get good crops in the first year.
Nutrition: Fruit is high in protein & contain vitamins A, B, & C, calcium, potassium, iron and zinc. It has many herbal actions and is considered very good for the circulatory system and the blood. It is thought that regular consumption reduces the risk of heart attack.
Using it in the kitchen: Chillies can be harvested at anytime they are fully grown, whether they are green, red, or any colour in between. Anyone who cooks would be familiar with their use, but if youd like to get more chilli into your diet, try adding them to the omelettes, scrambled eggs, soups, pasta sauces, and basically any dish that could handle a bit of spicing up. At the end of their season, I harvest all the red ones I can, dry them out, crush them slightly and then put them in a bottle with cold pressed olive oil. After a couple of months this infusion tastes very good (and hot!) and can be added cold at the end of cooking (stirred in after the heat is turned off), or even drizzled onto pizzas for a bit of bite. I can also vouch for chillis ability to ward off & reduce symptoms of colds and flus. Make a strong tea of dried chilli, fresh ginger slices, crushed garlic and lemon juice add honey if youd like the tea sweetened.. During the day or days youre fighting off the cold, dilute this tea with hot water & sip regularly throughout the day. It works! Chilli tree is a great survival plant as it grows for many years in a wide range of conditions, gives an abundance of fruit which is great for cooking and for your health.
Chilli tree fruit - seeds of the ripe fruit will sprout in warmer weather.
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Chinese artichoke
Using it in the kitchen: Chinese artichokes have a mild nutty flavour and are more notable for their appearance & crunchy texture. Quite a novelty for guests! All that needs to be done is remove the dirt which can be done quite effectively with an old toothbrush. No need to peel them.
Summer foliage of Chinese artichoke - will spread rampantly if you let it. Botanical Name: Stachys affinis Some other names: crosne, chorogi, knotroot How to grow it: Chinese artichoke is a low growing perennial that will sprawl over a large area if allowed. It has a lush green foliage that dies back in winter at which time the harvest is ready. Will survive in full sun, but prefers a moist, shady position. Loose soil would be an advantage, but they seem to crop pretty well in all types of soils. Copes well with drought, but produces better with a regular water supply. Think carefully about where you will plant it as it can easily overrun an area & spread way further than what you might imagine. It can then be quite hard to control. Ive learnt this lesson the hard way & now put them in contained areas only. Can be propogated at any time of the year by root cuttings, but the best time would be early spring ensuring a full growing season for the following winters crop. Any piece of root seems to grow. Chinese artichoke is an ideal plant for pots and will reward you well each season. Harvest of Chinese artichokes Once cleaned they can be eaten fresh in salads, or served as a vegetable dipper for dips. I also like to add them to soups, stir fries, casseroles & curries for their texture as much as anything. Chinese Artichoke easy to grow plant with a novelty harvest. Chinese artichokes are a great survival food for the hardiness of the plant and the novelty of harvest not so much the nutrition.
Page 20
Choko
Using it in the kitchen: Choko is an amazing food plant. Most people are aware that fruits can be eaten, which in season are abundant. Try eating the smaller fruits chopped in salads and stirfries. Larger fruits are great quartereed and baked, as well as added to curries, soups, and casseroles. What people arent so aware of is that the plant is a bountiful source of shoots and tendrils which are highly nutritious in salads and stir fries or even sandwiches. Any shoots that snap off will be tender and added at the last minute, have a great texture in stir fries. Tubers can also be harvested in the dormant season and used the same as yam or potatoes. Seeds have a nutty flavour and can be eaten fresh or roasted.
Choko - a hardy vine with many uses Botanical Name: Sechium edule Some other names: Chayote, Alligator pear, vegetable pear, christophene, citrayota How to grow it: Choko is a sprawling, hardy perennial vine to several metres that will happily climb fences, trellises & other vegetation. It is usually grown for its fruit, but all parts of the plant are edible making it a very useful plant. Its grown very successfully in the subtropics/tropics where its warm season growth can be quite massive invasive if it isnt given the room. In cooler climates, it will die back in cooler weather and wont tolerate heavy frosts. May need to be treated as an annual in these climates. Its fairly hardy overall, but will do much better in moist well drained soils. Its roots might rot in heavier soils. Needs full sun for best results. The easiest way to propogate Choko is to bury a fruit in the ground in spring. It strikes very easily as youll notice from any fruit that falls to ground theyll start growing with almost 100% success. Tip cuttings in spring also work well. Not a great plant for pots unless you want growing tips and tendrils for your stir-fries. Plant 2-3 fruits in a pot and cover with mulch. Then harvest the shoots & tendrils very regularly to keep the plants under control. Nutrition: Choko is an excellent source of Vitamin C, and has good levels of Vitamin B, zinc, copper, manganese, and potassium.
Choko fruits cut to show flesh Other uses Chokos are a great plant to grow over the chooks run to provide shade, protection and a regular supply of fresh greens. The prolific leaf growth can be cut back several times during the growing season and used as mulch this will encourage growth of new shoots for use in cooking. Choko is an excellent survival plant as its easy to grow, prolific, and the entire plant can be used as food.
Page 21
Coco yam
Propogation once you have one patch established is as simple as replanting roots or suckers that will come up all around the main plant. If you harvest the main plant, the area around it will quickly reproduce new shoots. Will do very well in pots, though harvest of tubers will be much smaller than a ground grown one. Great looking pot plant though. Nutrition: Leaves are high in protein & contain vitamins A, B, & C, calcium & potassium. Good source of fibre. Tubers are rich in easily digestible carbohydrates, and also contain good amounts of Vitamins A & C, protein, magnesium, potassium & phosphorous. Using it in the kitchen: All parts of Coco yam need to be well cooked before eating as they are toxic raw. The toxins are destroyed by cooking. Corms should be peeled first. The leaves and stems can be cooked into curries, soups & casseroles for their high protein content. The stems also add an interesting texture & they will tend to take on the flavour of the dish. Corms can be added to all the same hot dishes and are excellent as a roast or boiled vegetable or cut into chips.
Coco yam - a very pretty & hardy survival food. Botanical Name: Xanthosoma sagittifolium Some other names: Arrowleaf elephants ear, Malanga, Taro kang kong
How to grow it: Coco yam is a perrenial clumper to about 1.5m which in many ways is similar to Taro except the leaf is more arrow shaped, and connects to the stalk at the base of the leaf not from the centre as in Taro. It is grown extensively in tropical areas of the world as a food plant Though it does best in the tropics, it will also do well in cooler areas provided theres no heavy frost. In cooler areas, it will die back & reshoot in spring. Grows well in sun or shade. Unlike Taro, it prefers soil that drains stagnating or dying in boggy situations. Deeper, more fertile soils will produce bigger tubers. Regular watering is still essential for healthy plants. For best growth, mulch & fertilise well. The leaves can get very large & attractive an excellent ornamental plant. In colder climates, you could grow it inside in a pot until conditions warm up. Prefers some sunlight, but will handle light shade well too. It does well in large pots I grow some in my greenhouse where it loves the warmer moist conditions.
Coco yam tubers from 1 small plant. Coco Yam is a great survival food as all parts are eaten, and its very hardy as long as you live in a warmer climate. Makes an excellent ornamental that can be harvested in times of need.
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Comfrey
Medical science however, has determined that the plant includes alkaloids that are dangerous to humans proven through laboratory testing in rats. There is very little evidence to suggest that humans or livestock have actually been poisoned by the herb, but nevertheless, it is now banned for internal (mostly) and/or external use in many countries. It is surely ironic that you can buy a pack of cigarettes from the local corner store which has been proven to kill millions, but you cannot use comfrey no matter how beneficial it might be! In history, it has a long record of use and there are many, many anecdotal accounts of its effectiveness in dealing with many different diseases including chronic ones like cancer, arthritis, asthma and digestive disorders. And thats only by taking it internally. Externally, its been used for dealing with broken bones, bruising and even healing open wounds. So given that authorities have banned its use, I cant recommend that you use the herb, only that you research its potential benefits/drawbacks for yourself. My own experience using Comfrey externally leads me to value the herb medicinally more than any other in my garden. Ive used it on a variety of complaints in my family and found it to very effective, if not amazing! Open wounds healing in a fraction of the normal time, rashes disappearing overnight, even pain relief and quick healing of sprained ankles etc. Other uses:Fortunately, even though comfrey is banned in many countries for use as food or medicine, there a still numerous uses for it in the garden. Due to its deep roots, it mines nutrients from deep in the soil that arent available to other plants, and the leaves can be harvested very regularly and used as mulch on the garden. Containing good levels of Nitrogen, potassium & phosphorous + trace elements makes it almost a complete plant fertiliser. It can be soaked in water for a week, and then used as a rich liquid fertiliser. Comfrey is a known compost activator, and can be added regularly to the compost to speed things up. If youre concerned about taking comfrey internally, try chopping it up and giving it to your chickens then eat the eggs. In fact all livestock will benefit from its regular use.
Comfrey - an easy to grow plant with many uses. Botanical Name: symphytum officinale Some other names: Knitbone, Boneset, Woundwort, Bruisewort How to grow it: Comfrey is amongst the easiest & most hardy of all plants I know. Once established, it is virtually unkillable and it would be wise to carefully consider where to plant it as it will always be there! Like many perennials, comfrey will do best in a deep, well drained, fertile soil, but it has a wide tolerance for all conditions. Will tolerate drought, sunlight, lack of sunlight, will outcompete all weeds and can be continually harvested for most of the year. It has deep roots which will mine nutrients and moisture from deep in the soil. Other than maybe a bit of seaweed spray, Ive never directly fertilised my comfrey plants and they always seem to thrive. The best way to propogate is break off a root, further break it down to 2cm pieces, and plant it sideways in the soil. It seems that any piece of root will strike, so one established plant will make many, many new ones. Will grow very happily in pots, though it wont reach anywhere near the size & productivity of the ground grown ones. The comfrey controversy:Comfrey is a very nutrient dense plant with high levels of vitamin A, B, C & E, potassium, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium + many more minerals. It also has constituents that lead to a range of herbal actions.
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Drumstick Tree
Propogation is by seed or limb cutting just cut a 1-2m limb off when the plant goes dormant in winter & put it upright into the ground. Once the weather warms up the limb will shoot and youre on your way to another tree. Nutrition: Advocates of the Drumstick Tree claim that it has 7 times the Vitamin C in oranges, 4 times the calcium in milk, 4 times the Vitamin A in carrots, 2 times the protein in milk, and 3 times the potassium in bananas! Im not sure how accurate those claims are, but science does confirm this is one of the most nutritious plants on the planet and a potential treatment for many, many human ailments. Using it in the kitchen: The raw leaves arent especially tasty (nor are they disagreeable), but given their extraordinary nutrition, they could be added to salads & sandwiches with other greens on a regular basis. They can be added to cooked dishes the same you would any spinach, but remember youll probably destroy the vitamin C content so perhaps adding them at the last minute would be best. The young seedpods can be cooked like green beans the flavours quite simliar actually, and the dried beans can be cooked into stews and casseroles or fried or roasted like nuts. If you search the plant on the internet, youll find many other uses in many cultures. A truly versatile and hardy plant and surely one of the best survival plants available to us!
Drumstick tree - all parts are used. Photo: Iaminfo Botanical Name: Moringa oleifera Some other names: Horseradish Tree, Moringa, Ben oil tree, Benzolive How to grow it: Drumstick tree is a leguminous tree to 10 m which originates in Asia but is grown around the world in subtropical/tropical climates. It is very hardy particularly to drought and grows in a wide range of soil types. Does far better in full sun. It is tender to frost, so may need to be planted every year in cooler climates. Except in tropical areas, expect the plant to die down in winter & re shoot in spring. Will also do OK in pots, but youll need to repot it every year or so, trimming the roots, or you can just grow new ones from seed every spring.
Small Drumstick Tree in a container for harvesting leaves
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Galangal
Using it in the kitchen: Galangal is used almost exclusively in asian soups, curries & curry pastes. It has a unique aroma that adds authenticity to these dishes, and in my view, cannot be omitted or replaced. Lucky its a gorgeous plant & virtually unkillable!
Galangal foliage is lush and will grow to 2m Botanical Name: Alpinia galanga How to grow it: Galangal is a hardy perennial plant to 2 metres that is grown for its underground rhizomes and used to flavour oriental flavoured dishes. Grows in full sun to shade, handles annual dry seasons well, but responds well to lots of water. Grows all year round in the subtropics & tropics, and will die back and resprout in spring in cooler areas. Doesnt like frost, so in cooler areas use as an understorey plant. For large and easy to harvest rhizomes, plant in a deep, loose soil. Propogation is by root division basically anytime its warm simply dig up some roots and put them in their new position. Ive often struck plants from rhizomes found in fruit and vegetable stores and markets, so keep your eye out. Will do well in pots for a year or two until it becomes potbound & you have to dig it all up & start again.
Galangal - irreplaceable for asian food fans Slice it thinly and add it to soups, or chop it finely and add it to stir fries, curries or curry pastes. It also has a pleasant perfumy aroma that goes well with herbal teas. Not the most important of survival plants for its very limited use, but its really easy to grow & looks great. If you love asian food it actually is a survival plant!!
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Garden sorrel
In my climate (sub-tropics), Ive never seen garden sorrel seed, but in cooler climates seed can be collected in autumn or the plant just allowed to self-seed. Its a very common plant you should find it at most herb nurseries or you can get seeds online. Nutrition: Sorrel has high levels of vitamin C along with Vitamin A & B. It also contains calcium, potassium, iron & sulphur. Very nutritious for something so easy to grow! Garden sorrel - a year round supply of fresh greens Botanical Name: Rumex acetosa Some other names: Sorrel, Common Sorrel, English Sorrel, Spinach Dock, Narrow Leafed Dock. How to grow it: Sorrel is amazingly hardy, growing all year round in frost free climates, and much of the year in colder climates in just about any soil type. It has deep roots making it quite tolerant to drought, but the leaves can get a bit chewy & sharp. In moist conditions, it will grow prolifically & provide plenty of succulent leaves. Sorrel is an attractive plant too it would be equally at home in a garden bed with shrubs or flowers as it is in the vege garden. I like to have it in a few spots in the garden (full sun & part shade) & will pick from the one that has the most succulent leaves at the time. It will also do very well in pots, but needs to be divided regularly as it will become potbound quickly. Addition of fertiliser will only make Garden sorrel more prolific than it already is, but it seems just as happy when left to pull nutrients deep from the ground with its long roots. Propogation is easy once you have one plant established just simply dig up the whole plant, divide it into clumps with your spade (see photo below) & replant or put it into pots. Within a couple of weeks it will resprout & you can start eating the leaves immediately. Using it in the kitchen: Sorrel leaves have a sour taste that varies in intenisty depending on which leaves you pick. The young leaves growing from the centre of the plant are very mild and the outer leaves can get quite sharp in taste particularly if grown in full sun in the hotter weather. So just pick leaves according to your own taste. Use young leaves in salads and sandwiches theyll add a mild flavour and have nice texture. Older leaves can also be used fresh, but this will be according to your taste. You can also use older leaves in stir fries, soups, quiches, casseroles and omelettes generally in combination with other greens. Sorrel is an obvious candidate for survival food as it is so hardy & prolific. Ive never thought about preserving because its always available fresh from the garden Other info: I occasionally feed it to chickens & add leaves to the compost or mulch, but mostly I just eat it. Would be good for erosion control or on the edge of gardens as it outcompetes all weeds. If you like the flavour, try sheep sorrel it has much smaller leaves and a sharper taste, but is higher in nutrients & has greater medicinal value. Its also worth learning about yellow dock a common weed. In a survival situation it could be used in cooking the same as garden sorrel, but its definitely worth preboiling to reduce the sharp taste and oxalates.
Page 26
Garlic chives
Nutrition: High in Vitamin C also rich in vitamins A & B, iron, calcium, sulfur and magnesium. Good tonic herb to take regularly.
Using it in the kitchen: Garlic chives can be used in all dishes cooked & uncooked where the delicate flavour of onions & garlic are required. Thick, juicy, ribbon-like leaves of Garlic chives Botanical Name: Allium Tuberosum Some other names: Thai leeks, Chinese Chives, Gow choy, Oriental garlic. How to grow it: Garlic chives are a perennial herb to about 50cm with strap like leaves that distinguish it from its close cousin Onion chives. Ive found it to be much more hardy & prolific than onion chives. Handles all soils well & does best in full sun. In warmer climates it will grow & can be harvested all year round, in colder climates it might die down in winter, but resprout pretty quickly when the weather warms up. Will benefit from the addition of fertiliser and regular watering, but seems to grow happily without much care Will do very well in pots but will need to be pulled up & thinned out every couple of years. Garlic chives have a very strong root system and will handle neglect where most other plants wont. Often when Ive seen a run-down vegetable patch, the only plant outcompeting the weeds & handling drought are the garlic chives. Seems to grow faster if its harvested regularly. It grows easily from seed, but once you have plants established, the best way to propogate is to dig the whole plant up, divide the bulbs and roots into small sections & replant. Within a week or two, the plants are on their way again. You wont have to look very hard to find seeds or plants at your local nursery. The upper green parts can be used in salads & sandwiches to great effect. They can be chopped finely, but I prefer them cut in 2-3cm sections as shown below the flavour seems a little more noticeable. When used in cooking, the upper parts can be added to soups, casseroles, omelettes & stir fries but I suggest adding them only at the last minute or the flavour will be lost. The lower white parts can be treated just like you would leeks, or my favourite is to add them to stir fries for a delicious garlic flavour burst. Rarely a meal goes by that Im not using garlic chives both for the flavour & health giving properties.
Garlic chives harvested & prepared for cooking. The lower parts are better cooked. Garlic chives are a great survival food as they seem to survive any conditions and have great nutrition. If I was in a survival situation, Id cherish them for the flavour they would add to my food.
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Ginger
The tropical foliage of Ginger How to grow it: Ginger is a hardy perennial plant that is grown for its underground rhizomes and used in cooking, medicine and as a tea. In nature, Ginger is an understorey plant, and so I tend to plant it under other trees. In commercial cultivation though, its grown usually in full sun and no doubt has higher yields. The main ingredient needed for ginger is warmth. it will do well planted in spring in both subtropical and tropical areas. In cooler areas, youll have a shorter growing season and may suffer from smaller rhizomes still worth growing if you can. Although tolerant of drought due to the underground rhizome system, ginger does best in moist, well drained situations where it will produce large crops of swollen rhizomes. Best harvest time is when the foliage dies down for winter, but I just harvest it as needed the rhizomes are smaller, milder & more tender early in the season, and will be much larger & more pungent later in Autumn & winter. Propogation is by root division in spring simply dig up some roots and put them in their new position. In warm areas, you can plant them right up until summer & still get good crops. Just get a piece of root from an organic source, break it up into pieces & plant into position. It strikes very easily. Will do well in pots for a year or two until it becomes potbound & you have to dig it all up & start again.
Ginger rhizomes dug up for division and replanting. Nutrition: High in potassium, manganese, copper & magnesium, and vitmans A & B. Many beneficial herbal actions. Ginger is thought to be very good for your digestive & circulatory systems and will reduce nausea from morning sickness & motion sickness. Helps ward off colds & flu. Add a few slices to you tea or on its own.
Using it in the kitchen: Ginger is mainly used as a spice in both savoury & sweet dishes. You can grate, chop, mince or slice it into stirfries, curries, soups usually with some garlic & chilli. I find it has a special synergy with sweet potato & pumpkin try it in your next pumpkin soup for a flavour treat. Also worth trying grated into your favorite meat marinade. I try and add it to food as much as possible for its health benefits, but beware it can have a dominating flavour or actually taste quite hot. Stores fairly well in a dark dry spot in the pantry, or can be sliced thinly, dried and reconstituted in water as required (or just added to hot dishes as is). Ginger is a great survival food for its hardiness, its long harvesting time, its usefulness in cooking & for its health benefits.
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Globe artichoke
Nutrition: A highly nutritious vegetable high in potassium, calcium and iron and good levels of vitamins A, B, C, magnesium & phosphorous. Using it in the kitchen: Young shoots of the plant can be eaten as a vegetable either boiled or steamed on their own, or added to curries & casseroles. The attractive, thistle-like foliage of Globe artichoke Botanical Name: Cynara scolymus How to grow it: Globe artichoke is a perennial thistle to about 1.5 metres that it is grown for its immature flower buds. It is a very attractive plant for its large blue green leaves. if the plant is allowed to flower (thats not going to happen if you like the buds for food), it has very pretty bright purple flower heads. It has a fairly wide climactic range, though might need to be grown as an annual in cooler climates. Needs protection from frost. Does well in sun or part shade. Its best to give globe artichoke well drained, fertile soil. It will handle some dry periods, but doesnt like heavy soils or bogs. Mulch and fertilise well. Get seeds or seedlings for globe artichoke theyre very easy to start like this and youll have access to a greater variety. You can also take root divisions and root cuttings from mature plants, but seeds are easier. Will grow in pots, but the flowers are somewhat stunted. I think Globe artichoke prefers a bit of room to move. Flower bud of Globe artichoke ready for harvesting The delicious part though, is the heart of the flower bud. Often it is trimmed and then boiled or steamed (it is nice to then use the hearts on pizzas!), but I think its best prepared as a roasted vegetable. Dont worry about trimming it, just put the whole buds on an oven tray, and drizzle some oil (infused with garlic and rosemary is good), and slow roast them for about 1-1.5 hours. Then when you eat it, youll get plenty of meat from the petals and the heart is deliciously tender. Globe artichoke is a great survival plant for its delicious vegetable and for its hardiness. As its such a pretty plant, it could easily be grown amongst your ornamental plants for its foliage, and then the flower buds can be harvested, or left for a gorgeous flower display.
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Horseradish
Nutrition: A highly nutritious plant Vitamins A, B, & C, potassium, calcium, iron and sulphur in particular. Eating horseradish regularly is beneficial to your digestion and circulatory systems and for your blood. Can be taken as an expectorant in sinus conditions. Using it in the kitchen: Young horseradish leaves can be used fresh in salads, or cooked into stir fries, soups, curries and casseroles. The roots are best eaten uncooked but need to be preserved in either mayonnaise or vinegar. My favourite method is to chop the roots roughly & further chop them as finely as I can in the food processor. Then dribble mayonnaise or vinegar while the processors still running until the mixture has the consistency of a sauce. My family eats the mixture as a delicious condiment, but it could also be considered a great preventative tonic for colds, flu and other viruses.
Horseradish - the leaves and roots are used Botanical Name: Armoracia rusticana Some other names: Mountain radish How to grow it: Horseradish is a very hardy rambling perennial to about 40cm. It is used for it young leaves and large roots in cooking and medicine. Probably best grown in climates with cold winters, horseradish will still grow in warmer clients but the flavour will be milder. Grows well in sun or shade and is very drought tolerant grows like mad when its wet, and goes almost dormant in the dry. Deep, well drained soils will produce the biggest tubers, but it will grow well in poor soils too. An ideal plant for underneath fruit trees and amongst your vegetable crops. It is thought to repel many pest and diseases and make a great companion plant. Propogation is by separation of the roots that can be broken up into pieces & then root quite readily. Once you have a plant established, you can pretty much harvest anytime & the it will resprout from the pieces of root left in the ground. Can spread a metre or two underground in just 1 year if left to. Will also do quite well in pots if theyre large enough for the plant to develop a decent size root system. Regular harvesting would be essential.
Horseradish roots cleaned & ready for processing into horseradish cream Horseradish is a great survival food as its so easy to grow and use, and provides flavour in cooking and health benefits.
Page 30
Jerusalem artichoke
Propogation is by root division in spring simply dig up some roots and put them in their new position. As the plant has high potassium needs, its worth sprinkling some wood ash around the planting area. Comfrey would make an excellent mulch. Would probably grow well in pots if a new pot is planted every spring. Nutrition: High in potassium and iron and also contains calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and vitamins A, B, & C. Using it in the kitchen: The edible tubers are harvested once all the foliage dies down. Its best to harvest only what you intend to use, as they dont keep very well. Any tubers left in the ground will resprout in spring. Tubers can be scrubbed and grated raw into salads they have slight nutty flavour. They can also be cooked like potatoes and have a similar texture. Try them in soups, casseroles & curries or on their own as a baked or boiled vegetable.
Jerusalum artichoke - showy display in late summer Botanical Name: Helianthus tuberosus Some other names: Sunchoke, Sunroot, Topinambour
How to grow it: Jerusalum artichoke is a hardy perennial to over 2m which is grown for its roots. During the growing season there is a showy display of sunflower-like yellow flowers. Note that the plant is nothing like an artichoke, and for that matter doesnt come from Jerusalum either! Will do best in full sun and in well drained, fertile soils, but Ive received reasonable crops in poor soils too. Its ideal climate is temperate, where given the right soil conditions, can spread quite rapidly and become somewhat of a pest. In the tropics and subtropics its a little more temperamental the root quality seems to deteriorate year by year and it may be best grown as an annual Its an excellent plant for drought conditions and needs very little fertiliser. Its one of those plants you can put in out of the way and it will continue to produce year after year.
Jerusalum artichoke tubers cleaned and ready for baking or boiling. Jerusalum artichokes are a great survival plant, particularly in temperate zones as they regrow every season with very little care.
Page 31
Kang kong
Ive had great success growing Kang Kong in closed containers simply fill any closed container (20 litre bucket, pots with no drainage, styrofoam boxes etc) with soil leaving 5-10 cms from the top. Fill with water to a level just above the soil, and put your cuttings or seeds in. As soon as the plants start growing you can start harvesting. This growing method can be very productive and is great for drier climates just add a bit a bit of water when needed the foliage will reduce much of the water loss. Kang Kong growing very happily in the wet season Botanical Name: Ipomoea Aquatica Some other names: Water Spinach, Swamp Cabbage, Ong Choy, Chinese Watercress and many other local names throughout Asia. How to grow it: Kang Kong is a terrifically hardy perernnial that will grow anywhere at anytime its growing conditions are met that is, when its hot & wet. It grows like mad in these conditions, and will meander or die back when its cold and/or dry. Seems just as happy in sun or shade. In the tropics, it will grow all year if it has regular water, but is best planted as the wet season begins and will require no maintenance. If theres a problem with it, it can get out of control a great reason to harvest it regularly. In cooler areas, it will die back in winter and reshoot in spring. In cold areas its growing season might be quite short. Given its water requirements, it does best in a boggy area or on the edges of ponds. Its just as happy in shallow water as it is in wet mud. It does well in a shadehouse or hothouse and its growing period might be extended due to the extra warmth. Kang Kong will certainly benefit from the addition of manure, compost, worm juice or seaweed, but will also do pretty well without any maintenance at all. Once I put a cutting in a vase of water to root, and it grew & produced leaves for months without any help at all quite amazing! Very easy to propogate from stem or tip cuttings theyll readily shoot in water or just put them in the ground on a rainy day or when rain is imminent. The plant will start flowering as the weather cools down and seeds can soon be collected for planting in the following seaason.
Its best to start a new container every spring though one season is plenty for it to become rootbound and the following year will produce rather straggly leaf & stems. Nutrition: Despite the fact that it requires very little care, Kang Kong is a highly nutritious plant with high levels of protein, calcium, iron, potassium, & vitamins A B & C. A valuable addition to the diet. Using it in the kitchen: Freshly harvested Kang Kong leaf & stem" Young leaves are fairly bland taste-wise and easily substitute for lettuce in green salads. The best thing is they are so prolific when its too hot or wet for other salad greens. In season I eat the greens fresh on a daily basis both in salads & sandwiches. As a spinach, leaves can be used in almost anything quiches, omelettes, soups, casseroles anything that would benefit from some nutritious greens. I prefer to add them at the last minute as they wilt very quickly, but they also do well in slow, long cooking dishes. The stems can be chopped finely & used in salads, but are at their best when chopped quite thickly & used in stir fries. Very tender & tasty. Kang Kong is a brilliant survival food as its so nutritious, it grows like mad and keeps coming back every summer. Other uses: Kang Kong makes great animal fodder due to its high protein content. Just feed it fresh to your livestock and grow it in boggy areas of paddocks. Due to its prodigious growth it could also make good mulch or compost in the garden, but Id sun dry it for a week first it will sprout very easily in moist warm conditions.
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Lebanese cress
Lebanese Cress - a hardy & delicious salad leaf Botanical Name: Apium nodiflorum Some other names: Stonecress, Fools Watercress. How to grow it: Lebanese Cress is what I would classify as a hard-to-kill plant once you have it, youll most likely always have it. Its a rapidly spreading perennial ground cover that likes wet conditions, but will handle periods of drought. Grows in full sun, but prefers some shade especially at the hottest times of the year. In warmer areas I find it prefers the wet season & cooler weather it will still grow strongly in the heat, but the leaves may be tougher & less palatable especially in full sun. In cooler climates it will go dormant or even die back in the winter so your best harvest times will be spring & autumn. Lebanese Cress likes moist conditions best of all and so will grow well in bogs or anywhere it gets a permanent water supply. if theres a problem with it, it can be invasive though its easy to remove if necessary. It does respond well to fertiliser, especially folier sprays like seaweed & worm juice.
Did I mention that Lebanese Cress can be invasive? Propogation is very simple just pull up some plants roots and all & replant them into their new position or pots, water them in and theyll be on their way with very little care. Id suggest you start 2-3 different patches with different sun/shade/water conditions expecting youll have tender leaves in one of the patches at most times of the year. Nutrition: Leaves a good source of protein with vitamins A, B, & C, iron, calcium, phosphorous & potassium. Using it in the kitchen: The leaves of lebanese cress have a refreshing flavour that is like a cross between carrots & celery. Delicious! Use them frequently in salads and sandwiches. I like them chopped up & added to coleslaws. It would be well worth having some growing right near the kitchen in a large pot so it can be picked for a quick sandwich or salad on those rainy days when its hard to get in the garden. A great survival food for its hardiness & uninterrupted supply of nutritious leaves.
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Lemon balm
Lemon Balm - add a refreshing lemon scent to your salads Botanical Name: Melissa officinalis Some other names: Balm, Bee Balm, Honey plant, Cure all, Melissa How to grow it: Lemon Balm is a perennial herb to about 50cm which is so easy to grow it can become invasive. It does well and has a stronger flavour in full sun, but will produce larger leaves for a longer period if grown in partial shade. I grow it in several patches with varied sunlight and moisture & find that I have it available all year round. In the subtropics and tropics (where I live) it does better in Autumn to spring, in cooler climates it might die back & resprout in spring. Will do well in pots if well watered, mulched & fed again, preferring a partially shaded position. The simplest way to propogate is by root division- just grab a handful of roots and all from the middle of your patch, separate the pieces and plant directly into the ground. Keep watered for a couple of days and theyll strike easily. Will also strike well from cuttings or grown from seed. Nowadays its also very easy to obtain in garden outlets or online.
Root divisions from Lemon Balm Nutrition: Lemon balm contains vitamins A, B & C and volatile oils that have many herbal actions. It is well known to be calming and sedative just try grabbing a handful of leaves and take a deep breath with the aroma! Also thought to ba a natural antioxidant. Using it in the kitchen: The leaves by themselves are not particularly palatable a little bit chewy for my liking. Combined with other greens though, they go very well in salads & sandwiches and attract many comments from guests in my home. The lemon flavour is very striking & pleasant. Leaves can also be added to hot dishes, but youll need to add a good handful or two to have much impact flavour-wise. Probably Lemon Balms best known use is as a calming herbal tea. Simply grab two handfuls of leaves and stems per cup of boiled water. Allow to steep for several minutes. Personally, I like to add a variety of different leaves to the lemon balm too. Other info: Although Ive written here about lemon balm, I actually prefer Lime Balm for its flavour. Its an identical plant in apearance & uses, but has a refreshing lime flavour instead of lemon. It might be a little harder to obtain in your local area though.
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Lemongrass
Using it in the kitchen: If you enjoy asian cooking, then it should be almost compulsory for you to have lemongrass in your own garden. The distinctive flavour of fresh lemongrass from your own garden cannot be compared to any preserved product, or even fresh product more than a couple of days out of the garden. Prepare by cutting the stalks off at the base & again where the white parts meet the green parts. Peel off a couple of outer layers to reveal the white tender inner parts of the stalk Use it with garlic, chilli and/or ginger for a wide range of soups, curries & stir fries. When cooking soups, I dont bother cutting the stalks off I just tie the whole cut plant in a knot, and submerge the lower parts into the broth. You can then just remove prior to serving the flavour would have all transferred to the soup.
Lemongrass easy to grow & useful in the garden and kitchen Botanical Name: Cymbopogon citratus Some other names: Citronella grass, sweet rush, fever grass, camels hay How to grow it: Lemongrass is a perennial clumping grass to about 1 metre. It is harvested for the green leaves & white tender bases used extensively in Asian cooking. It originates from a tropical climate and so it will do best in subtropical and tropical climates, but with some frost protection, will grow in cooler areas too. Loves heat and water, so youll do much better if you can create that sort of microclimate. Will do OK in poor soils, but can be amazingly fast growing if given moist, well drained, fertile soil. Responds very well to mulching and high nitrogen fertilisers. Propogation is by separating the bulbs at the base of the plant. Any piece with some roots attached will strike easily. For a large amount of plants, try putting a spade through the centre of your existing patch, dig half the clump up, remove the soil & carefully separate the roots. Youll get lots of small & large pieces for replanting. Will also do well in pots keep them mulched, watered and fertilised. Pots could be a very good option in cooler areas as the plant could be moved to a protected position in winter. Nutrition:Stalks contain Vitamins A, B, & C, iron, chromium, calcium and potassium. An herbal tea made from the leaves is thought to be good for fever, digestive problems, and is even thought to have anti-cancer properties. Research is continuing.
Lemongrass stalks prepared for use in cooking You can also use the green parts of the leaves and/or the stalks for making tea try it with some of your other tea herbs. Other uses Lemongrass makes a great source of mulch. Regularly cut the green parts back for mulching garden beds or adding to compost you can harvest many times a year. Also a great plant for erosion control and for creating natural barriers for weeds and small animals. In my book, Lemongrass qualifies as a survival food as its so hardy & easy to grow and is great for flavouring food. Id also use the tea for fever in a survival situation and its a useful source of garden mulch.
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Malabar spinach
Nutrition: Malabar spinach had high levels of vitamins A,B, & C, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, manganese, zinc, and decent amounts of Iron and copper. It has good levels of mucilage which is a valuable aid in detoxifying the body. A highly nutritious plant. Using it in the kitchen: The young, juicy leaves make a great addition to salads and sandwiches and are often plentiful when other leaf vegetables are struggling with the hot midsummer sun. All leaves & shoots can be added to soups, stews & quiches where the mucilagin will help thicken the meal. Also great in stirfries, omelettes or just on its own as a steamed vegetable, but dont cook it for too long as the mucilage can have the effect of giving it a slimy texture. Usually I add them only at the very last minute. My personal favourite way to use it is to plant it thickly in tubs in spring, and when its growth takes off, pick the young shoots off daily for stirfries & omelettes. Eventually it will get away from you by climbing or sprawling, but usually I can keep it contained for a couple of months this way. The shoots are delicious & tender!
Malabar Spinach - an attractive AND nutritious plant Botanical Name: Basella Alba Some other names: Ceylon Spinach, Indian Spinach, climbing spinach, Basella How to grow it: Malabar Spinach is a perennial twining, sprawling vine that is at its best in the heat of summer. It does well in full sun, but will produce larger juicier leaves if grown in partial shade. It will thrive in moist, fertile and well drained soils, tending to develop tough leaves or bolt to seed if conditions are too dry. When its happy, it is a very attractive plant quickly growing up trellises and other plants for most of the warm season. Its best suited to sub-tropical to tropical conditions where the rain & heat of summer suit it perfectly but will also grow with a shorter season in cooler climates. Will do well in pots if well watered, mulched & fed for best results make sure it has a trellis to climb. Ive grown two varieties one with a green stem the other with red. I dont think theres much different in terms of flavour or productivity, but the red stems look great! Malabar Spinach is a very easy plant to propogate, in fact I usually just let it self seed and pick out the surplus seedlings like theyre weeds. If you allow it to go to seed, next spring youll find it sprouting up all over the place!. When you have a plant in season, tip cuttings will root readily in water. Collecting seed is easy too. In Autumn, the plant develops red berries which I usually let dry on the vine. Just collect them up and replant them the following spring. For better germination, soak them in water overnight the day before planting. If you cant get the plants locally, you should have no problems getting seeds online.
Malabar Spinach grown in tubs for daily picking of the shoots Ive never thought about preserving the foliage, but Malabar spinach is a good survival food in warmer areas because it so readily self-seeds & has high nutrient value.
Other info: The red juice of the berries is used as a nontoxic food dye, and as ink in some countries. My kids have used it for body painting too.
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Mitsuba
Grows just as well in pots a few plants in a small pot will provide a surprising amount of greens. Nutrition: High in vitamin C & calcium. Also contains vitamin A, B, potassium, iron & protein. Using it in the kitchen: Leaves have a mild parsley flavour and would make a good substitute when your other parslies are struggling. It has much more value used freely as a salad leaf and in sandwiches instead of lettuce. Has a really refreshing taste The whole plant can also be added to stir fries, soups, curries & casseroles.The stems are particularly good in stir fries -dont cook them for too long or their flavour will be lost.
Mitsuba - the hardiest parsley in my garden Botanical Name: Cryptotaenia japonica Some other names: Japanese Parsley, Honeywort, Japanese Chervil How to grow it: Mitsuba is a perennial herb to 50cm that is beyond hardy it will quickly become a weed if left unchecked. I find it sprouting up all over my garden if allowed to seed. Fortunately its also very useful & tasty. The leaves will be more tender in a shaded position, but it handles full sun well even in the hottest months. As far as I can tell, it handles all soil types. In warmer areas it will provide leaves & stems all year round, in colder climates it may die back in winter, but will readily sprout as soon as the frost has passed. It has a decent tap root and so will continue to do well in dry weather, but keep it watered and it will grow prolifically. It will continue growing when the rainy season hits & I tend to lose most of my other parsleys. Will benefit from the regular addition of fertiliser. Propogation is by seed which should be easy to obtain. If you allow it to self seed (which it does very easily), the following year youll have it coming up all over the place. I tend to cut the seed stalks down to encourage leaf production and extend its season. Being perennial it will keep growing indefinitely.
Freshly harvested Mitsuba plants - leaves for salad, whole plant for cooking Mitsuba makes a great survival food as it grows so easily in all conditions, and will spread rapidly through self seeding.
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Mukuna wenna
Nutrition: I cant find any nutritional information on Mukuna Wenna, but given that its a valued herb in eastern medicine, it would be safe to say its rich in vitamins & minerals. I think that the rich red colour of the leaves must offer something to our nutrition that isnt available in greens. Using it in the kitchen: Leaves are pretty bland really I find them best used with other leaves for variety & nutrition. The purple leaves are really striking & appetising in a green salad, and for this reason I use them a lot. Leaves can also be added to stir fries, soups, curries & casseroles for extra colour & nutrition.
Mukuna wenna - an appetising & nutritious addition to your salad Botanical Name: Alternanthera versicolor How to grow it: Mukuna Wenna is extremely easy to grow and will handle almost any conditions. Like many other plants described here, it can tend to become a weed. Its a spreading perennial plant to about 40cm that seems to handle sun or shade equally well. If you have cold winters it may die back and reshoot, but elsewhere it will grow all year round. Definitely more vigorous in wet or boggy soils, but its also quite drought tolerant. In drier conditions it may tend to get stalky and bolt to seed, but youll always have usuable leaf for harvesting. Regular fertilising will help it grow, but Ive found it needs very little care of any kind. Makes a decorative ground cover in garden beds and under trees and will grow very well in pots & even hanging baskets. Its very easy to propogate, simply pull some stems and roots up from an established plant, replant in its new position & water in once. I dont think Ive ever had a cutting that wont strike. Same goes for tip cuttings if your plant isnt well established.
Freshly harvested Mukuna wenna leaves - remove the stalks & flowers An excellent survival food as leaves are available all year round and the plant is so hardy.
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Multiplier leeks
Multiplier Leeks shown a few months after planting a single seedling As leeks are one of my favorite vegetables, I have them dotted all over my garden. Im happy eating them once theyre about 10mm in thickness, but they are better when they reach about 20mm. Nutrition: Vitamins A, B, & C, calcium, potassium, phosphorpus, Iron, silica & protein virtually the same properties as all plants in the onion family. Using it in the kitchen: Use them the same as you would for normal leeks in curries, soups and casseroles, but due to the fact theyre tender & mild, theyll also go well in omelletes & stir fries just cook them a little bit. Multipliers Leeks are an excellent survival food as you get all the benefits of the onion family, stems are available all year round and the plant is virtually unkillable!.
Multiplier Leeks - plant them once & you'll never have to plant them again. Botanical Name: Allium porrum How to grow it: The problem with normal bienniel leek varieties is the long time to harvest usually 6 months or more. In the tropics/subtropics this is further complicated by the fact that the wet season can either damage or completely destroy your crop. If you face either of these problems, try multiplier leeks. Youll be very unlikely to grow them to the same size as you see in the supermarket, but they are very tasty, and if you can get used to the smaller size, you can have leeks all year round. As far as I can tell, multiplier leeks will grow in any climate & any soil type. The only job to attend to is to pull them up and separate them every few months so they can grow to a decent size.
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Mushroom plant
Nutrition: A highly nutritious plant Vitamins A, B, & C, protein, calcium, iron in particular
Using it in the kitchen: As its name suggests, the plant supposedly has a mild mushroom flavour Im not sure I can make that distinction but the leaves are delicious nonetheless. Mushroom plant - a crunchy and tasty addition to your salads Botanical Name: Rungia Klossii Some other names: Rungia, Kenkaba, Moku, Tani How to grow it: Mushroom plant is a perennial clumping shrub to about 60cm. Its fairly hardy overall, but will do much better in moist well drained soils. Prefers a partly shaded position, but will handle full sun too if kept moist. Mulching and fertilising improves leaf production a lot. In warmer areas it will grow all year round and in colder areas it needs protection from frost Once established, its a very attractive plant and wouldnt look out of place in an ornamental garden or under trees as a living mulch. Propogation is by separating the plant from the base or you can just take tip cuttings (shown below) and put them in the ground or in pots. Make sure they are kept well watered. Will also do well in pots keep them mulched, watered and fertilised for a regular supply of leaves. Freshly harvested Mushroom plant leaves - delicious! When harvesting, I usually take the 5-10cm stems and pick the leaves off in the kitchen this encourages leaf production. A great survival plant as it tolerates shade and gives its harvest of leaves for most of the year. Freely add the leaves to salads and sanwiches for their flavour & crunchy texture. Leaves can also be added to stir fries, soups, curries, omelettes & casseroles but only at the last minute if youre keen to preserve their flavour which is generally lost through cooking.
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Nasturtium
Nutrition: Very high in vitamin C along with iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium. The whole plant is considered a powerful antixidant so use it regularly & often! Using it in the kitchen: Nasturtium leaves have a peppery taste that make an interesting addition to salads and sandwiches. Check that you like the flavour though you might want to use it sparingly to begin with.
Nasturtium - a hardy, vigorous plant with many uses. Botanical Name: Tropaeolum majus Some other names: Indian Cress, Monks Cress How to grow it: Nasturtiums are an annual trailing plant to about 40cm, but theyll happily grow up fences, trellises & other plants. Although strictly speaking an annual, they behave like a perennial as they self seed so readily. In cooler climates, they might need replanting each year in spring. They gow happily in full sun or part shade, but Ive noticed that their leaves can get a bit bitter in the mid-summer sun best to have them in a few different garden spots for regular supply. They respond well to watering and fertilising, but they are so hardy they actually dont seem to need any care at all. Put them under taller plants & trees for an attractive living mulch that will also help repel many garden pests. Theyll do well in pots too try them in a hanging basket for great effect. Propogation is simple by cuttings that will strike in water, by root division, or by seed which can easily be collected at ground level. You can often find them as seedlings in garden shops sold as ornamental flowers rather than food.
The Nasturtium bounty - leaves, flowers & seeds. The flowers are also edible and add great colour to salads. My kids also love sucking the nectar out of the flowers which is very sweet & delicious. Ive had no success in cooking the leaves the flavour tends to dominate the dish theyre added to, so I prefer to use them fresh. The green seeds and unopened flower buds can be pickled in vinegar to make a nice caper substitute, and the dried seeds can be ground up as a pepper substitute (not as hot as black pepper) A truly hardy, nutritious & useful plant in your survival garden.
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Oca
You propogate this plant with some of the harvested tubers the next spring. Ive not tried it, but Im sure tip cuttings early in the season would work too. Would probably grow well in pots if a new pot is planted every spring. Nutrition: High in Carbohydrates, calcium, iron, phosphorous, and vitamins A & B. Leaves are high in vitamin C and thought to be high in antioxidants. Using it in the kitchen: Botanical Name: Oxalis tuberosa Some other names: Oka, New Zealand Yam, Papa roja, Apilla, Hibia Leaves of the plant are pretty sour, but nutritious. You could add them sparingly to salads. They could be cooked into curries, stir fries & casseroles. The edible tubers are harvested once all the foliage dies down. Store them sealed in plastic bags in the fridge Tubers dont need peeling and can be eaten fresh, or chopped and added to salads. They can also be cooked like potatoes try them baked with your next roast. Add them whole or chopped to curries, casseroles or soups.
Oca - clover like leaves
How to grow it: Oca is a hardy perennial to about 40cm which is grown mostly for its underground tubers. The plant dies back in winter and yields good crops of small pink tubers Will do best in full sun and in well drained, fertile soils, but the plants quite hardy & will give reasonable crops in poor soils too.. Oca prefers a temperate climate for the best crops, but will grow in cooler subtropical areas too. Ive found in my humid subtropical climate, the above ground parts wilt and will die if air temperatures are sustained above about 30 degrees. I wouldnt bother with it in tropical areas unless you can find a locally adapted species. Its fairly drought tolerant though will need some decent water at some point in its growing season. Prefers full sun.
Oca tubers - use just like potato Oca are a great survival plant, particularly in temperate zones as they are easy to grow and yield good crops.
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Salad Mallow
Salad Mallow - essential summer salad leaves. Botanical Name: Corchorus olitorius Some other names: Egyptian spinach, Tossa jute, Jews Mallow How to grow it: Salad Mallow is an annual shrub-like plant that will grow to 2 metres in Summer/Autumn. In the sub-tropics/tropics, it is at its best in wet season and is outstanding for producing lots of leaves when other greens are struggling with the rain. It thrives in all soil types even boggy conditions, and does better in full sun, but will still produce in partial shade. Being an annual, it will die down in winter and need to be resown the following spring. Will do very well in pots if well watered, mulched & fed a great plant to have near the kitchen for a big supply of tasty salad leaves. Propogation is by seed in spring, and for years I painsakingly saved as much seed as I could as this is one of my favorite plants. After a while though, I realised that the plant selfseeds very easily in fact it seemed to come up all over the place like a weed as soon as the rains came. So now I dont bother saving seed I just let it come up wherever it wants, whenever its ready. If you only have one plant, it can be propogated easily by tip cuttings. A great plant for pots keep a few near the kitchen and look after them & theyll definitely look after you!
Seed pods of Salad mallow - get them early enough & you can eat them. Nutrition: Excellent source of protein, vitamins, A, B, & C, potassium, calcium, phosphorous plus many other minerals. This is one of the most valuable sources of nutrients we can grow in our backyards. If I could choose just one plant for the best combination of nutrition and taste this would be it!
Using it in the kitchen: The tasty, juicy leaves are great in salads and sandwiches and are often plentiful when other leaf vegetables are struggling with the rain. Can also be added to soups, stews & quiches as can the young seed pods which are used similar to Okra. Make sure you pick the pods young though as soon as they start getting stringy, no amount of cooking will make them tender. I also like to use the growing tips in stirfries, omelettes or just on its own as a steamed vegetable, which will encourage the plant to branch out & produce even more leaves, tips & seeds pods. Leaves can be dried when theyre plentiful & added to winter soups & casseroles to provide a protein & nutrient boost a great survival plant that will reward you year in and year out with very little care.
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Sweet Leaf
Sweet Leaf will also grow quite happily in pots keep them near the kitchen, well watered & fed for a regular supply of tips & leaf.
Nutrition: A really good source of protein, calcium, potassium & phosphorous plus vitamins A, B, & C. Using it in the kitchen: Sweet leaf - an attractive shrub with pea-tasting edible leaves Botanical Name: Sauropus androgynous Some other names: Katuk, Star gooseberry, Tropical asparagus How to grow it: Sweet Leaf is a hardy perennial shrub that has a wide tolerance for growing conditions. It will do best in moist well drained soils, but Ive found it will grow well in poor soils too. Seems to grow equally well in sun or shade. In warmer areas it will slow down leaf production when the weather cools off and in cooler areas it will die back only to reshoot in spring. Regular watering is preferred to keep it growing, but it will also handle periods of drought itll just stop growing. Regular fertilising will make a big difference to leaf production. I grow lots of it as its an attractive plant and would be right at home amongst other ornamental plants. Propogation is by seed (if you can get them) or tip cuttings.. In rainy season you can just take tip cuttings (shown below) and put them in the ground or in pots. Make sure they are well watered for a week. Leaves have a taste similar to peas and are a favorite for anyone who visits my garden. Great fresh in salads and sandwiches on their own or in combination with other greens. Leaves can also be added to stir fries, soups, curries & casseroles for their nutrition moreso than their taste which is somewhat lost through cooking. Adding at the last minute to stirfries & omelettes will preserve their flavour.
Freshly harvested Sweet leaf leaves - add to salads or cooking Tip cuttings can be steamed or stir fried on their own as a vegetable & are sometimes known as tropical asparagus. They are much better this way in the growing season a bit tough when the weather cools down. A great survival plant for its long season of highly nutritious leaves.
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Sweet Potato
Using it in the kitchen: Theres many different varieties of sweet potato and even more methods of cooking them from around the world.
The lush, heart-shaped foliage of sweet potato. Botanical Name: Ipomoea batatas Some other names: Kumara, Yam, Kamote How to grow it: Sweet Potato is a sprawling perennial vine that will spread over a large area if left unchecked. For best tuber production, its probably best treated as an annual where the soil can be prepared with fresh manure each season otherwise the crops in the second year of production will be much smaller. Prefers full sun, but will happily ramble into part shade areas and still produce tubers. Essentially Sweet potato is a subtropical/tropical crop, but is worth trying in cooler areas after all chance of frost has passed. For best results, a well drained deep soil is preferred and plenty of water in its growing season, but in my climate (summer rain/winter drought) it grows in just about any soil conditions the tubers will be smaller in inferior soils, but leaf production is still good. Propogation is usually by tubers, which can be cut into pieces with at least one eye for growing. It also can be propogated by tip cuttings which strike well in warmer weather. Not really suited well to pots, unless youre growing just for the leaves and tips, in which case theyd grow quite well Id think. Nutrition: Leaves and shoots are a good source of vitamins A, B & C and protein. Tubers are high in carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A & C, iron and calcium. Considered amongst the most nutritious vegetables available to us.
Delicious and nutritious harvest of Sweet potato In my home we mostly bake them in small chunks, and eat them hot, or add them to salads after theyve cooled. We also add them to soups, curries, and casseroles. They dont take as long to cook as most root vegetables. They can also be steamed/boiled or mashed with other root vegetables. In western culture, its often overlooked that the growing tips and young leaves make a tasty & nutritious spinach. Delicious added to stir fries, soups or even omelettes. Would be one of the most reliable sources of greens outside the coldest part of winter. Sweet potato is a terrific survival food if it grows well in your area just by allowing it to perennialise its actually hard to get rid of once its established. Other uses: All parts of sweet potato make nutritious animal fodder. Above ground parts can be used as mulch, and the plant serves very well as a living mulch around and under fruit trees or any orchard.
Tahitian spinach
Nutrition: Contains vitamins A, B, & C with protein, iron, calcium, potassium. Excellent source of fibre.
Using it in the kitchen: Some sources say that the leaves can be eaten fresh, but I dont find them particularly palatable. If you were to use them, Id try only the youngest leaves sparingly. The leaves and stems can be cooked into curries, soups, stir fries & casseroles where theyll tend to take on the flavour of the dish. The stems provide a nice texture not unlike celery. You could also use the leaves cut finely into quiches & omelettes.
Tahitian Spinach - a very pretty & hardy survival food. Botanical Name: Xanthosoma brasiliense Some other names: Celery stem Taro, Tannier Spinach, Tahitian Taro How to grow it: Tahitian spinach is a perrenial clumper which comes from the same family of plants as the widely grown ornamental Elephant Ears. It will grow to 1-2 metres, and like its cousin, is very ornamental with huge leaves & stems. Its favorite conditions would be moist conditions in the tropics, though it will grow in any frost free conditions. Great in a boggy situation or on the edge of ponds. In colder climates, you could grow it inside in a pot until conditions warm up. Prefers some sunlight, but will handle light shade well too. It does well in large pots I grow some in my greenhouse where it loves the warmer moist conditions. Addition of manure, compost, worm juice or seaweed will help produce massive leaves & stems, but it requires very little care seems to respond better to watering than feeding. Propogation is easy once you have one patch established you can either thin the patch out by taking the larger stems roots and all, or youll find lots of small side suckers to start new plants
Leaf & stem cut down & prepared for cooking
In my garden, Tahitian spinach serves mostly as a survival food. Ill occasionally use it in soups for a bit of variety, but its more important to us when severe wet season weather hits & destroys many other vegetable plants thats when it tends to thrive!
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Tree spinach
Leaves & flowers of Tree Spinach are all edible. Botanical Name: Abelmoschus manihot Some other names: Tree lettuce, Hibiscus Spinach, Slipper Cabbage, Aibika, Ibika How to grow it: Tree spinach is a perennial shrub that grows to about 2 metres. Does best in full sun with a well drained soil, but Ive found it does well in a wide range of conditions including drought. In cooler areas you might have to treat it as an annual as it is frost tender, but in warmer areas it will grow all year round. Grows well in large pots but does need good moisture and feeding in its growing season. Propogates fairly easily by tip or stem cuttings. I find the easiest way is to cut 10-20cm stems, snip off all the leaves & put them in pots or the ground on a rainy day. There are many different varieties of tree spinach and it may be a bit of work to obtain it in your locality, but its well worth the effort!
A second variety of Tree Spinach growing in my garden Nutrition: Tree spinach is extremely nutritious being very high in protein, and also high in vitamins A, B & C, and calcium, potassium, iron & magnesium. Its high mucilage content is great for detoxifying the body. Eat it regularly and often! Using it in the kitchen: The young raw leaves are tasty and kind of crunchy use them freely in salads & sandwiches. Older leaves can be added to hot dishes like quiches, soups & casseroles at any time the high mucilage will help thicken the meal. If using in stir fries, omelettes or as a cooked vegetable, only cook for a minute or so or you might find they become slimy. Tree spinach is one of the better survival foods due to its hardiness & regular supply of nutritious greens which can be used in almost any type of meal.
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Turmeric
Will do well in pots for a year or two until it becomes potbound & you have to dig it all up & start again.
Nutrition: High in potassium, calcium, iron & chromium, and vitamins A & C. Many beneficial herbal actions. Turmeric is thought to be very good for digestive complaints and as an antiinflammatory. It is also claimed to be helpful with cancer, alzheimers, and arthritis and is being investigated by medical science as we speak.
Turmeric is easy to grow & a pretty plant Botanical Name: Curcuma longa How to grow it: Turmeric is a hardy perennial plant to about 1 metre that is grown for its underground rhizomes and used extensively in cooking and in medicine. It grows well in sun or shade tuber growth is better in full sun. It does best in humid subtropical to tropical climates but could probably be planted every spring in cooler areas. Will not tolerate frost. Likes a lot of water, but doesnt grow tubers if its too waterlogged. The looser & deeper the dirt, the bigger tubers youll grow. Best time to harvest is when the leaves die down for winter, but Ill ferret for tubers at any time of year. Basically I just let them grow as a patch & harvest what I want, when required. Propogation is by root division in spring simply dig up some roots and put them in their new position. In warm areas, you can plant them right up until summer & still get good crops. Youll regularly see turmeric tubers at markets and organic shops nowadays just grab a few pieces and put them in the ground in warmer weather.
Using it in the kitchen: Turmeric is used as a spice in cooking and as a colouring agent. Most of us are accustomed to using it as a powder, but you can also use freshly harvested tubers. Slice them thinly into stir fries, curries & soups or any meat or vegetable dishes. It goes well in the vegetable juicer to add colour and flavour to your favourite juice. I suspect that turmeric is one of those super-herbs that keep us healthy through many actions, and so try and add it to cooking whenever I can. Stores fairly well in a cool dry spot in the pantry, or can be sliced thinly, dried and reconstituted in water as required (or just added to hot dishes as is). Turmeric is a great survival food for its hardiness, its long harvesting time, its usefulness in cooking & for its health benefits.
Turmeric plant dug up for dividing.
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Vietnamese mint
Nutrition: Leaves high in protein & potassium and other vitamin & minerals. Many herbal actions.
Using it in the kitchen: How you use Vietnamese mint depends on how much you like the flavour. If you dont like coriander then forget it you wont like vietnamese mint. It has a strong flavour similar to coriander but hot. The leaves can be eaten in combination with other greens in a salad or on a sandwich. If on the other hand you do like coriander, youll most likely enjoy these leaves added to oriental dishes at the end of cooking. They can be a real bonus to your diet as theyll grow in the heat whereas coriander usually wont all year coriander if you like! As one of its common names suggest, these leaves are great in a laksa or hot soup added at the end like a garnish.
Vietnamese mint - will become invasive if not kept confined Botanical Name: Persicaria odorata Some other names: Vietnamese coriander, Laksa leaves, Hot mint, Vietnamese cilantro, Rau ram How to grow it: Vietnamese mint is of those hard to kill plants it will grow anywhere, and if it likes its spot will become invasive. It is easy to remove though and quite a pretty plant. In warmer areas it will grow all year round and in colder areas it will rebound quickly after frost. I find the summer heat will cause it to lose some vigour, so suggest planting in a shady position that gets a bit of morning sun. Vietnamese mint will grow in shallow water or bog situations, and in fact its more likely to get invasive with unlimited access to water. You could try it in a closed container to prevent it spreading. I find it grows well without addition of fertilizer perhaps an occasional foliar spray is all thats needed. Propogation is very simple just root some cuttings in water. Once theyve rooted, plant them in the garden & keep watered for a few days. You could skip all this by just putting cuttings in the ground as rain is expected they so easily strike. Great plant for the greenhouse it will love the water & heat. Will also grow great in pots just keep it well watered.
Vietnamese mint - remove the stems before use A good survival food as the the plant is so hardy and the leaves so useful in asian cooking.
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Warrigal greens
Grows well in pots regular pruning prevents the plant spilling over & setting seeds in nearby pots. I like to have a couple of patches growing in different conditions, and pick from the best one. Nutrition: Leaves a good source of protein with vitamins A, B, & C, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous & potassium. Warrigal Greens - a delicate summer spinach leaf Botanical Name: Tetragonia tetragonioides Some other names: NZ spinach, Sea spinach, Botany Bay spinach, Cooks cabbage. How to grow it: Warrigal greens is a low growing perrenial which is very hardy & produces good spinach leaf crops in the warmest of weather Its also very salt tolerant and can be grown close to the beach in fact Ive often spotted it growing on sand dunes at my local beaches. It doesnt tolerate frost, so may needed to be planted as a annual in cooler climates, but in frost free climates it will grow all year round. It will handle full sun or shade equally well and prefers free draining soils, but it still grows in my subtropical climates wet season. Will hang in there with less plant growth in drought periods. It responds well to fertilising and mulching the leaves will get much bigger if well fed. Can tend to get a bit invasive if its happy, but it is also very easy to remove. Propogation is very simple just pull up some plants roots and all & replant them into their new position or pots, water them in and theyll be on their way with very little care. Warrigal spinach also flowers & sets seed late in summer, and if left to, will self seed rapidly. Using it in the kitchen: Warrigal greens leaves are thought to be relatively high in oxalates, which means if youre going to be eating a lot of them, they should be blanched & rinsed in cold water. If you go to this trouble, the leaves can be used in salads or cold dishes very nice. I tend to eat it without blanching in combination with lots of other leaves, and use it mostly in stir fries & omelettes at the last minute as they wilt very readily. Could also be added to soups, curries & casseroles for its nutrition rather than adding any body or flavour to the meal.
Warrigal greens - should be cooked first A great survival food for its hardiness & regular supply of nutritious leaves especially in summer when many other spinach plants are struggling.
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Water celery
Nutrition: Leaves & stems a good source of protein with vitamins A, B, & C, iron, calcium, phosphorous & potassium. Cooked white roots are a source of carbohydrate.
Using it in the kitchen: Water celery is so versatile and nutritious I use it in almost every meal. Water Celery - a vigorous plant that requires virtually no care. Botanical Name: Oenanthe Javanica Some other names: Water dropwort, Water Parsley, Chinese Celery How to grow it: Water Celery is another of those hard to kill plants once youve found a good position for it, it will grow year after year with virtually no care. Grows equally well in sun or part shade. In warmer areas it will grow all year round while its kept moist & in colder areas it will rebound quickly after frost. The biggest problem is will spread rapidly via its roots and become invasive but then its very easy to remove & thus control. Water celery, as its name suggests, needs moisture to grow prolifically. Bog areas and ponds are ideal, but it will grow almost anywhere while it gets water it might get stringy or stop growing when conditions are dry. I find it grows well without addition of fertilizer perhaps an occasional foliar spray is all thats needed. Propogation is dead easy just pull up some plants roots and all (shown below) & place them in their new spot with an initial watering, and youll never have to worry about them again. Water celery will grow well in closed containers like buckets & styrofoam boxes. I prefer to put drainage holes about 50mm below the level of the soil so that the soil actually dries out. This way you can harvest the stems right down to soil level without the stagnant water. If you grow this way, I suggest regular thinning of the roots the plant will become potboud very quickly. Great plant for the greenhouse it will love the water & heat.
The green leafy parts have a celery like flavour that goes great in salads and on sandwiches. Tender green stems cut finely can also add a bit of texture and unusual flavour to salads.Harvest and chop the leaf & stems & add to stir fries, soups, curries & casseroles. The stems will tend to keep their texture after cooking.
Water Celery straight from the garden & prepared for a stir fry The white roots can also be chopped & added to cooked dishes. Avoid picking the older, taller stems as they can become a bit stringy not unlike celery. A fantastic survival food I cant recall a time when water celery wasnt available for picking. For this reason, Ive never thought to try preserving it for lean times.
Water chestnut
Nutrition: Corms are a good source of carbohydrates with vitamin B, potassium, manganese & copper. Using it in the kitchen: Harvested corms need to be peeled, removing the dark brown skins, First, cut off the top & base then peel the remaining brown skin with a knife. Once peeled, the corms can be eaten fresh in hand, or chopped & added to salads. They have a slightly sweet, nutty taste and have a crunchy texture. Cooked, they retain this crunchy texture and can be added to stir fries, curries, soups & casseroles. Very popular in asian cooking. Since youll normally have a glut of corms at harvest time, its a good idea to freeze them. The best way to do this is to boil them for a few minutes, drain & cool. I like to freeze them on trays & then store them in freezer bags all separated that way you can grab a few at a time for adding to dishes for the rest of the year.
Water chestnut - a very productive bog or pond plant. Botanical Name: Eleocharis dulcis Some other names: Chinese water chestnut, Somwang, Apulid How to grow it: Water chestnut is a perennial sedge plant grown in swampy conditions for its tasty corms which are harvested in winter/ early spring. It has long, hollow leaves out of the water. It grows best in the subtropics/tropics but will still do OK in cooler areas provided theres over 6 months of warm weather. Does not tolerate significant frosts. I grow mine in an old bathtub with about 30 cm of soil covered by about 10cm of water and it produces big crops every year. Likes full sun in a warm position of your garden. To plant, prepare your soil in advance of spring with some old manure or compost and plant corms (2-3 per square metre) in the soil when wet not flooded. Once the shoots grow to above the level of your container, you can fill with water & the plant will take off without any other help. For bigger corms, its important to harvest all of the crop each year, perhaps leaving just a few in your container for the following year. The plant will grow like a perennial, without any help, but the corms will get progressively smaller as each year goes by not good as they are finnicky to prepare for eating.
Water chestnuts peeled and ready for adding to salads, stirfries or soups. A good survival food as they are so easy to grow, and they will perennialise if not harvested every year.
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Water pepper
Water pepper plant setting seed Water pepper for hot tasting leaves Botanical Name: Polygonum hydropiper Some other names: Tade, Marshpepper knotweed, Smart weed How to grow it: Water pepper is a hardy annual plant to about 60cm that is considered a weed of waterways in many parts of the world. Its attractive foliage varies from deep red to green. It will grow well in boggy conditions or shallow water, but will do better for leaf production in moist, fertile soils. Prefers sun, but handles shade well too. Being an annual plant, it will set seed & die in winter, but in my subtropical climate it seems to be available all year round by self seeding. Propogation is by seed, cuttings or root division. It seems that either insects or birds like the seed as it comes up all over my garden, but not in an invasive way its very easy to remove by hand Will also do well in pots keep them mulched, watered and fertilised for a regular supply of leaves. Nutrition: High in protein & potassium and other vitamin & minerals. Many herbal actions. Using it in the kitchen: Water pepper doesnt have a great deal of flavour perhaps a hint of horseradish, but what youll realise as soon as you try some is that its hot a peppery kind of hot. If you like the heat, add leaves freely to salads and sandwiches and if you dont, tear them up and add them to salads sparingly. The red tinge on the leaves will add interest. I tend to use them for their health giving benefits, and I dont mind a bit of bite in fresh salads.
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Yacon
Nutrition: Vitamins A, B, & C, potassium, calcium, magnesium & iron. Yacon derives its sweetness from inulin a sugar thats indigestible by humans. That makes it suitable for diabetic and low calorie diets. Using it in the kitchen: Every year when the foliage dies back we end up with a glut of the tubers. I like to give some of the crop away as a novelty, and my kids like them peeled and eaten raw. They have a sweet and slightly earthy taste delicious!
Attractive foliage of Yacon in the growing season Botanical Name: Polymnia sonchifolia Some other names: Peruvian ground apple, Apple of the earth How to grow it: Yacon is a perrenial tuber to 2 metres that has very attractive above-ground foliage. Every year at the beginning of winter, the foliage dies back and this is the best time to dig up what Ive always found to be a massive supply of sweet tasting tubers. If the smaller roots are left in the ground, the plant will resprout again in spring and youll get crops year after year. It does well in my sub-tropical climate, but will do just as well in cooler climates. Will grow in full sun to partial shade and due to its tuber system, is quite drought hardy. Will respond well to fertilising & mulching, and for best results, will prefer a deep, loose soil. It will still produce well in any well-drained soil but it doesnt like boggy conditions. It will also do very well in big pots, but needs to be needs to be started again every year or it will become potbound very quickly. Any root, tuber or sucker seems to resprout, but if your soil freezes in winter, you would be well advised to keep some roots in the fridge for replanting in spring. Due to the attractive foliage and strong root system, plant will do well amongst other ornamental plants, or I tend to plant it out of the way in areas that I dont water it seems quite happy without any care.
Eat Yacon tubers fresh or baked. Theyll keep pretty well in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks. They can be peeled and chopped into green salads and fruit salads and are great in the juicer with other vegetables. They can also be baked with the skins on (the skin peels away easily after cooking) or added to soups, casseroles or curries. In spring, the young shoots & foliage can be added to stir fries, curries & soups. Although we dont eat them all year round, smaller tubers could probably be dug up at any time making Yacon a great survival food it requires basically no care and in all but the coldest climates will keep producing every year.
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Yam
A warning about Yam some varieties might become invasive in some climates. They have caused major problems in some parts of America. It would be wise to consider this for the variety youd like to plant in your area, as well as considering where you plant it and how youll prevent it becoming invasive. Nutrition: Tubers are high in carbohydrates & potassium, also good levels of Vitamins A, & C, phosphorous, calcium and magnesium. Using it in the kitchen: Some varieties of Yam produce airborne bulblils that are known as air potatoes. ive grown them but have never got around to eating them. Some people swear by them as a tasty food, while others are not so sure. Just make sure the variety youre growing is edible raw, or they will require boiling to remove toxic substances.
Lush foliage of Purple Yam Botanical Name: Dioscorea species Some common cultivars: alata, bulbifera, cayenensis, dumetorum, esculenta, opposita, rotundata, trifida. How to grow it: There are many varieties of Yam and they are widely cultivated in mainly tropical areas of the world. Yam is a perennial tuber that will wind & twine throughout your garden if left unchecked. It forms large tubers that are usually harvested at the time the plant dies back/slows down for winter. The tubers can get massive and the foliage while you wait for them is gorgeous. It does well in my sub-tropical climate, though most varieties thrive in the wet tropical areas of the world. There are varieties that will grow in cooler climates too try chinese yam (D. opposita) Will grow in full sun to partial shade and due to its tuber system, is quite drought hardy growth really picks up when regular rain comes. Will respond well to fertilising & mulching, and for best results, will prefer a deep, loose soil. It will tend to grow anywhere its planted however. Ive never tried Yams in pots theyd make a particularly attractive pot plant due to the foliage, but Im sure growth would be somehow stunted given the room needed underground for the tubers. Any piece of root or tuber seems to sprout, and so the plants very easy to propogate. Usually it will regrow after harvesting and youll get further crops the following year. You can also take tip cuttings early in the growing season.
Flesh of the purple winged yam The tubers can be huge and need to be peeled before eating or cooking. Some varieties need cooking and other dont I usually cook them. Very similar in texture to potato, with slightly more flavour, they can be used in the same way in curries, casseroles, soups, boiled, baked, or cooked as chips. Theyll keep for ages in the same conditions as sweet potato cool, dark & dry. Yam is a great survival plant for its hardiness & perennial supply of large tubers.
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Survival plants by climate

Only you can be the expert in your local climate and what conditions you can provide in your garden. if you live in a cooler climate, you may have to provide suitable conditions (hothouse, indoor pots etc.) to have much success with some of these plants. I live in a cooler sub-tropical climate and can confirm all of these plants will grow here, and most will do well in warmer areas too. It is a fact of life that the majority of perennial survival plants originate from the tropics/sub-tropics and so do best in those climates. Having said that, Ive compiled a list of plants that should do well in cooler areas, and a few more that may do well. In many cases, they might do better if planted as an annual when all chance of frost has passed. Suited to cooler areas Asparagus Chilli tree Chinese artichoke Comfrey Garden sorrel Garlic chives Globe artichoke Horseradish Jerusalem artichoke Lebanese cress Lemon balm Mitsuba Multiplier leeks Nasturtium Oca Warrigal greens Water celery Water chestnut Water pepper
Potentially suited to cooler areas. Choko Coco yam Drumstick tree Sweet potato Vietnamese mint Yam Lemongrass Mukuna wenna Salad mallow
Survival plants for dry conditions

Plants are listed here on the ability to see see through drought periods without dying they wont necessarily produce much food at these times. The good news is, being perennial, these plants will grow quickly in response to rain & often will keep producing until it gets really dry again. Excellent drought tolerance Arrowroot Asparagus Cassava Chilli tree Garden sorrel Garlic chives Multiplier leeks Sweet potato Warrigal greens Yacon Yam
Reasonable drought tolerance Brazilian spinach Chinese artichoke Choko Coco yam Comfrey Galangal Ginger Globe artichoke Horseradish Lebanese cress Lemon balm Lemongrass Malabar spinach Mitsuba Mukuna wenna Multiplier leeks Mushroom plant Nasturtium Oca Salad mallow Sweet leaf Tree spinach Turmeric Vietnamese mint
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Survival plants for bog areas

Many of these survival plants handle bog situations very well. For these plants, theres only two seasons wet season & dry season. If its warm and theyre well watered or even flooded, theyll grow like crazy, if its dry, theyll go dormant. Theyre fantastic to use in your existing bog situations or shallow ponds and can be very ornamental. If you dont have any wet areas in your garden, its well worth considering creating some just to grow these plants. Closed containers like broccoli boxes and old baths make great miniwatergardens and these plants will love it! Suited to shallow water and wet mud. Kang kong Lebanese cress Mukuna wenna Handles poor drainage Arrowroot Brazilian spinach Chilli tree Chinese artichoke Comfrey Galangal Garden sorrel Ginger Horseradish Jerusalem artichoke Lemon balm Lemongrass Malabar spinach Mitsuba Mushroom plant Nasturtium Salad mallow Sweet leaf Tree spinach Turmeric Tahitian spinach Taro Vietnamese mint Water celery Water chestnut Water pepper
Survival plants for shady areas

These lists are of plants that (should) handle shade well. Two categories Full shade & part shade. Use this as a guide though. Whether plants will grow in shade depends on what its other conditions are like. Id give any plant a go as no other microclimate is just like yours. On the other hand, some morning sun seems to be helpful to all plants as far as I can tell. So if you can find a shady spot with a bit of morning sun, most of these plants should thrive there. Full shade Brazilian spinach Comfrey Galangal Garden sorrel Ginger Horseradish Part shade Arrowroot Asparagus Chinese artichoke Choko Coco yam Comfrey Garlic chives Globe artichoke Nasturtium Salad mallow Sweet leaf Tree spinach Water pepper Yam Kang kong Lebanese cress Lemon balm Malabar spinach Mitsuba Mukuna wenna Mushroom plant Tahitian spinach Taro Turmeric Water celery
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Survival plants for pots and containers

Not all of us have access to enough space to grow a survival garden in the ground, or maybe you move around a lot and have to take your plants with you. If growing in pots is your only option, then perennial survival plants would be a better solution than the vast majority of annual plants theyre hardier, longer living, and in many cases make a very pretty pot plant for indoors or out. A few well established pots near the kitchen can be very handy if you struggle to find time to harvest an outdoor garden particularly when its raining. Fertilising and regular watering of pot plants is essential for healthy plants, and you might find youll need to repot your plants every 1-2 years to avoid them becoming root bound. Grows very happily in pots and containers Brazilian spinach Galangal Garden sorrel Garlic chives Ginger Kang kong Lebanese cress Lemon balm Lemongrass Malabar spinach Mitsuba Mukuna wenna Multiplier leeks Mushroom plant Nasturtium Salad mallow Sweet leaf Tahitian spinach Turmeric Vietnamese mint Water celery
Grows in pots but much better in the ground Arrowroot Chilli tree Chinese artichoke Coco yam Comfrey Drumstick tree Jerusalem artichoke Oca Taro Tree spinach Warrigal greens Water pepper
Survival plants for mulch

In a survival situation, its unlikely youll be able to pop down the road and pickup some mulch. Mulch though, is a very important part of a sustainable garden. If youve got enough room, its well worth growing these plants just for mulch. Theres high nutrition in the foliage and the supply of it is ongoing all these plants recover well from a good hacking! Plant around the edges of your garden beds or on the perimeter of your garden so you can access fresh mulch easily. If you plant them thickly enough, you could create a very effective weed barrier. Plants marked with a * below will tend to take root in rainy weather, so either mulch only in dry weather, or be prepared to pull up some roots. Best plants for mulch Arrowroot Cassava Choko Coco yam Comfrey Drumstick tree Garden sorrel Jerusalem artichoke Kang kong* Lemongrass Malabar spinach* Mitsuba* Sweet potato* Tahitian spinach Taro Tree spinach Yam*
Also use these if you have lots. Brazilian spinach Galangal Globe artichoke Horseradish
Mushroom plant Nasturtium Oca Salad mallow
Turmeric Vietnamese mint* Warrigal greens Yacon

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Survival plants for nutrition

Really, you cant go too wrong just growing any of these plants and eating them. In general, theyre far more nutrient rich than anything you can buy in the supermarket particularly seeing youre picking them out of your own garden. As a father of 4 kids, Ive become quite interested in the nutrient value of these plants very often its better than the conventional western vegetables. Below is a list of plants that I believe are the most nutritious. Its a very subjective list basically just my opinion, taking into account how much you would normally use as well as nutrient content. Best nutrition Asparagus Chilli tree Drumstick tree Garlic chives Ginger Horseradish Kang kong Malabar spinach Multiplier leeks Salad mallow Sweet leaf Sweet potato Tree spinach Turmeric
Next best nutrition Brazilian spinach Cassava Choko Coco yam Garden sorrel Tahitian spinach Taro Water celery Yam Globe artichoke Lemon balm Mitsuba Mushroom plant Nasturtium
Survival plants for salads

Once you have a survival garden established, you shouldnt have to ever buy salad greens again. You might, like me, still plant some annuals like lettuce & rocket at the right time of year, but your survival plants will soon become your staple salad leaves. One of the very best things about these plants is that they produce abundantly in summer a time where many annual salad greens wont grow. The list this time is in two parts best salad leaves & best foods for eating raw, which includes some root and stem vegetable that can be cut raw into salads. Raw food is king for nutrition, and if you pick your leaves from your garden you can be eating it in a salad within 10 minutes you dont get much more raw than that! Best salad leaves Brazilian spinach Drumstick tree Garden sorrel Garlic chives Kang kong Lebanese cress Other plants for eating raw. Asparagus Chilli tree Chinese artichoke Choko Coco yam Horseradish Multiplier leeks Oca Vietnamese mint Water chestnut Yacon Lemon balm Malabar spinach Mitsuba Mukuna wenna Mushroom plant Nasturtium Salad mallow Sweet leaf Tree spinach Water chestnut Water pepper
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Survival plants for stir fries

Here is a list of plants you can use in your stir fries. Stir fries is a term I use loosely you could also use them in curries, risottos, steamed veges, omelettes etc. This list is in two parts. The first part is for vegetables that need no cooking but taste good cooked they can be added at any time preferably close to the end. Youre looking to wilt them or heat them up not so much cook them. The second list is for plants that are better lightly cooked they would typically be added at the same time you would add broccoli, onions or carrots. These plants taste great & can add some authenticity to asian dishes in particular. Cooking not required Asparagus Chinese artichoke Drumstick tree Garlic chives Kang kong Cooking required Brazilian spinach Chilli tree Choko Galangal Ginger Lemongrass Multiplier leeks Sweet potato Tahitian spinach Turmeric Warrigal greens Water celery Lemon balm Malabar spinach Mitsuba Mushroom plant Salad mallow Sweet leaf Tree spinach Vietnamese mint Water chestnut Water pepper
Survival plants for soups and curries

Here is a list of plants you can use in long cooked meals like soups, curries, casseroles & stews. To my mind, theres twice you can use them in this type of meal. Early on youll want to be adding root and stem vegetables, but also some leaves to improve both the flavour & nutrients of the stock. Just prior to serving, you could add some more leaves for flavour & texture. Normally youd just want them wilted not cooked. Play around with it to find the way you like it, but when you consider how nutrient rich these plants are, it makes sense to add as many as you can to these types of meals. Can be cooked (added early) Arrowroot Brazilian spinach Cassava Chilli tree Chinese artichoke Choko Coco yam Drumstick tree Galangal Garden sorrel Ginger Jerusalem artichoke Kang kong Lemongrass Malabar spinach Mitsuba Mukuna wenna Multiplier leeks Mushroom plant Oca Salad mallow Sweet leaf Sweet potato Tahitian spinach Taro Tree spinach Turmeric Warrigal greens Water celery Water chestnut Yam
Dont need cooking (add at the last minute) Asparagus Brazilian spinach Chilli tree Chinese artichoke Choko Drumstick tree Garden sorrel
Garlic chives Kang kong Lemon balm Lemongrass Malabar spinach Mitsuba Mukuna wenna
Mushroom plant Salad mallow Sweet leaf Tree spinach Vietnamese mint Water pepper
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Survival Food Plants

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Survival Food Plants

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Contents

What is a survival plant?

Why survival plants?

Do your bit for the environment.

Why you won't see these plants in your supermarket

The survival food forest

What is a survival plant?

Why survival plants?

Do your bit for the environment

The total destruction of forest by clearfelling. Photo:TJ Watt

Why you won't see these plants in your supermarkets

Commercial harvesting of Kang kong Photo: Pen War

The survival food forest

The survival food forest - lots of species, not a lot of cultivation.

source: USDA National Nutrient Database

Survival gardening tips

Tip#1 Try anything and everything

Tip#2 Learn to eat what you grow

Tip#3 Dont sweat the bugs.

Tip #4 - Leave your spade in the shed

Building a no-dig garden a six layered no dig garden in photos

and the results

Before and after photos of a no dig garden after 55 days

Tip#5 Work on the soil not the plants.

Small Drumstick Tree in a container for harvesting leaves

Oca - clover like leaves

Leaf & stem cut down & prepared for cooking

Turmeric plant dug up for dividing.

Survival plants by climate

Survival plants for dry conditions

Survival plants for bog areas

Survival plants for shady areas

Survival plants for pots and containers

Survival plants for mulch

Mushroom plant Nasturtium Oca Salad mallow

Turmeric Vietnamese mint* Warrigal greens Yacon

Survival plants for nutrition

Survival plants for salads

Survival plants for stir fries

Survival plants for soups and curries

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